RWBY'S GRIN
by Legendary 2094
Summary: A boy falls into Ruby's life again, impacting in a way that she wouldn't expect. The boy's team brings Ruby's along a rocky path, revisiting pasts, meeting new adversaries and forming a love that can't and won't be broken. Reviews always appreciated and wanted.
1. Introductions

"I can't believe the day we just had." A certain blonde sighed. "You exploded, you were reunited with your old friend and uh, you detonated like a Dust like explosive." Yang spoke, stretching and relaxing on the soft cool grass. Laying next to her was her younger sister Ruby. The younger had an eventful day, her sister listing off some of said events.

"I know, kinda weird that he's actually here."

"Yup." The brawling blonde sighed throwing her arms behind her head. "Didn't you say that he has some weird friends too?."

"Yang, that's not nice. Also, yeah he has one I think." Ruby scolded slightly, before sighing.

"Tell me about them."

The soon to be Huntress-in-training replayed her first day of Beacon in her mind before telling it to her older sister.

* * *

Ruby gasped and marveled at the wondrous sight that was Beacon. Hundreds of people wandered around the campus, showing they're weapons to Ruby. Explosive ball 'n chains, katanas with a knife at the bottom of the handle, rifle spears, the list continues. The weapon enthusiastic drooled at the potential friends for Crescent Rose. Beginning to feel dizzy, the red clad girl fell backwards, unknowingly onto crates of unknown contents.

Dazed and confused, Ruby scratched the back of her head, trying to understand what just happened. "What are you doing?!" A voice filled Ruby's ears, albeit painfully. Looking up, the scythe wielder noticed a woman dressed in almost full white. She was leaning down, just barely above Ruby hands on her hips. The woman did not look pleased in the slightest.

"Uh, well I was staring at weapons and then I fell backward onto these very uncomfortable cases." Ruby answered the rhetorical question. The woman sighed and stood up, squeezing the bridge of her nose.

"You weren't supposed to answer that."

"Well, why'd you ask?" Ruby questioned. The woman only sighed in frustration.

"Ugh, it doesn't matter! Just get off of that case!" The woman commanded, causing Ruby to scramble off of the uncomfortable case that she was sitting on. The woman sighed and hastily grabbed the case before opening it. She then took out one of the cases contents.

A red Dust vial.

"You know that case you sat was? It was a storage container for Dust." Ruby stared at the woman, with a dumbstruck look. "Do you know what Dust looks like? What it is?!" Once again another look of confusion was the only answer. The white clad woman sighed and explained to Ruby the basics of Dust. It being the basics of elemental control, energy propellant, etc. Finally, the woman stopped speaking, but didn't notice that she was furiously shaking the Dust vial.

There must have been a crack in the vial, because some of the powdered Dust had slipped out of it's small container and into the air and into Ruby's nose. One thing that Weiss left out of her explanation was that powdered Dust was extremely volatile. And soon she'll experience just how volatile Dust was. Ruby's nose began to twitch and spasm before she inhaled greatly.

 _'Oh n-'_ The woman never finished her thought due to Ruby sneezing and activating the Dust in the air, causing a flaming explosion. A ringing filled Ruby's ears before more yells came from the white woman. Once Ruby's ears were back to normal and ringing free, the girl frantically apologize for nearly blowing her and the woman sky high. However the apologizes fell upon deaf ears as the woman continued to yell at Ruby.

"I said I was sorry, Princess!" Ruby snapped, using the small tiara like thing on the woman's head as a way to name call her.

"It's heiress actually." A third voice had entered the conversation and Ruby relaxed, finding an out to this awkward situation. The third voice belonged to another woman who seemed to be the complete opposite of the white woman. The third voice's owner wore mostly black, with the occasional purple. She had flowing black hair, piercing yellow eyes and a cute black bow on top of her head. "Weiss Schnee, heiress of the great Schnee Dust Company." The woman, who was now discovered to be Weiss Schnee, nodded.

"Finally, some respect." Weiss smiled. The black bow wearing girl then began to speak about the many problems the great Schnee Dust Company had done and caused, mostly the treatment of Faunus. Weiss frowned and groaned before storming off.

"Oh, thank god. You really saved…" Ruby exhaled turning to the bow wearing girl only to see her gone, instead a tumbleweed replaced her presence. "…me." Distantly, shouting was heard behind Ruby and she turned to see who was emitting the noise.

"Gray! Over here! The explosion was over here!" A energetic female voice said.

 _'Gray…'_ Ruby thought. _'No, it can't be.'_

"Jeez, slow down Nia! You'll rip my arm off." A slightly deep voice spoke up.

 _'But the voice sounds a bit familiar.'_

"I wanna see it!" The energetic voice pouted, sounding closer than usual.

"So do I! But I wanna see it with me being intact." The familiar voice countered. Finally, Ruby began to see who these voices belonged to. Ruby could make out a girl who was holding something behind the wall of a building of Beacon's campus. The female voice belonged to a very pretty girl. The girl had long blond hair with dark red accents, all put into a ponytail. Her skin tone was more tan than Ruby's, more close to Yang's. Her eyes were a stunning bright red and she had a pure smile.

The blonde wore a dark red tight long-sleeve shirt, with dark brown fingerless gloves in her hands. The long-sleeve shirt seemed to have small latches of armor on it, a rectangular patch on both of her upper arms and two on either side of her torso, both patches protecting her sides of her body. Lastly she wore simple dark blue jeans. The girl also wore dark combat boots. The blonde's build was interesting. She seemed like a well kept girl, having strong arms and most likely having more muscular features. However, the girl seemed to keep herself feminine. On her sides were things that Ruby really paid attention to.

Weapons. On the girl's left was a small sheathe with a weapon in it, the sheathe was most likely for a long dagger. On her right was a significantly longer sheathe and in it was a sword, however the weapon enthusiast didn't know what type of sword was it.

She smiled at something behind the wall before dragging it forward. The thing groaned before laughing at the girl, the blonde soon joining. The male voice belonged to a fairly tall guy. The boy had slightly mess jet black hair, the messiness looked like it was intentional. The boy's skin tone was a natural light-dark, a nice dark brown. The boy was well built but not in a absurd amount, mainly a toned.

The boy wore a light, black trench coat, the article of clothing stopping at the boy's mid-calfs. He wore a slightly tight gray shirt and dark cargo pants. Just like the blonde girl, the boy wore combat boots. The boy's weapon was a strange one. The blade was hidden by a sheathe, by the blade was the exact type of blade used for scythe's. The handle for the weapon ran along with the blade, the under part of the blade being it's guide. There was a trigger guard and inside of said guard was two triggers. Oddly, the weapon didn't seem to have a gun feature.

"Look! There's a giant crater!" The girl chirped. "Aw! But, the people who probably caused it are gone."

"Maybe she caused it, Nia. Hey, excuse me!" The boy called Ruby's attention and the scythe wielder broke her trance.

"Y-yes?"

"Can I ask you something?" Ruby slowly nodded and the boy and girl walked over to her. "Hey, you haven't seen the people that did – well that." The boy pointed to the small crater that Ruby made when she had her Dust detonation.

"Um, uh well…I kinda did that."

"What?! How!? Did you use a bomb?! Nuclear bomb? Hydrogen bomb?" The blonde asked.

"Um, no. I actually just sneezed."

"Oh. My. God. Gray! She's a walking, talking human bomb!" The girl shouted. Ruby's eyes widened as she analyzed the boy more. He looked just like him. But older. As the boy talked to the energetic blonde, Ruby gasped realizing who this guy was.

"G-Gray?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm? Yeah that's my name." The boy who was now referred to as Gray, stared at Ruby before widening his eyes as well. "Wait a second…Ruby? Is that you?" Ruby frantically nodded as she remembered back when the two were best friends, before he disappeared and her mother died. "Oh my god!" Ruby crashed into Gray and squeezed him in a hug that could rival Yang's. Tears of happiness were threatening to fall but Ruby held it together.

After the brief hug, Ruby pulled away and smiled at her old friend. "I can't believe this. You're here too! In Beacon! We're going to become Hunters and Huntresses! Just like we wanted to!" Ruby said.

"I know. Wait, how did you get to Beacon in the first place? If I remember, correctly you should still be in Signal." Ruby chuckled nervously as she thought of a way to explain why she's here, a year early.

"Um, about that…it's probably because I, um, stopped-a-robbery." The scythe wielder spat out the last words at lightning speed, making Gray extremely confused. Ruby sighed and then explained the situation entirely, her old friend nodding and paying extreme attention to her. Finally, Ruby sighed and fell to the floor, landing on her butt she pouted. "Great, I'm reunited with my best friend and my first impression in I don't know how long was me exploding. Great."

"I'm sorry?" The girl asked and said. A glare from Gray made her 'apologize' for real. Footsteps made the trio hear a fourth party approach and the three look over to see a blonde boy walk up to Ruby and offer a hand.

"Having a bad day?" He asked her as Ruby pulled herself up.

"Yeah." Ruby sighed. She looked at the boy and something clicked, along with Gray and the blonde girl.

"Wait, are you that guy that threw up on the Airship?" They all asked simultaneously.

* * *

"Look, all I need to explain is that heights and me, don't click." The boy explained, Gray, Ruby and Gray's female friend walking with him through the amazing campus of Beacon.

"Well, we could see that, Vomit Boy." Ruby giggled. Vomit Boy scoffed.

"Oh, we're doing names now? Can I call you Crater fFace?" The blonde countered, making Ruby blush in embarrassment and Gray snickering, along with his friend.

"N-no. You can just call me Ruby."

"Great, you can call me Jaune Arc. Great right? Short, sweet rolls of the tongue. Ladies love it." The boy introduced himself.

"Do they though?" Gray's friend asked. Ruby didn't notice until now, but Gray's female friend was pretty close to him.

"No, they don't." Jaune enthusiasm faded instantly. "But they will, though!"

"So, I have this." Ruby spoke, wanting to change the subject of conversation. The soon to be Huntress-in-training activated her weapon and dug it into the ground. Jaune jumped at the sudden action and hid behind Gray.

"Whoa! Is that your weapon?"

"Yup. My baby. Crescent Rose. A high-impact sniper scythe." Ruby smiled.

"Uh…."Jaune moaned, he didn't know a thing about what she said.

"It's a scythe and a gun Jaune." Gray sighed.

"Oh."

"Uh, what's yours, Jaune?" Ruby wondered. Jaune pulled out a sword.

"Well, I have this sword and then the holder thingy for it turns into a shield." Jaune explained, demonstrating what each thing could do. Ruby 'oo'ed' and 'ahh'ed' while Jaune put his weapon away. "Uh, what about you Gray?"

"Well…"Gray groaned, unsheathing his weapon. "Basically. I have a retractable handle about the size of my forearm. The handle runs with the blade. If I pull this trigger," Gray pulled one trigger above the other and suddenly the scythe like blade flipped up 90 degrees making a perfect right angle, safe for the natural curve for the scythe blade. "It rotates 90 degrees. Then, if I pull the other trigger," Gray moved his weapon away from him slightly before pulling the bottom trigger. The retractable handle extended and caused the strange weapon to become a scythe, albeit in a strange way. "It'll do that. I call it _Broken Stem_." Ruby smiled, the boy probably thought about his old friend when he made it.

Ruby marveled at the interesting design. The strange rags that wrapped around both the blade and handle, the strange writing on the blade, and how if was expertly crafted. "Cool." Jaune and Ruby admitted. It was strange that it didn't have a gun feature, but everybody has they're taste.

"Um, excuse me?" Ruby tried to get the attention of the blonde girl and she succeeded. "Um, I'm sorry but I never asked what your name is." The blonde girl smiled a warm smile and introduced herself.

"No worries! That's my fault. My name is Nia May. Nice to officially meet you." Ruby couldn't help herself but smile at Nia.

"Nice to meet you too."

"Now, your probably dying to see my weapon right? Well..." Nia then pulled out her weapons. The weapons being a long dagger and katana. Both things had been expertly crafted, topping Gray's by a landslide. Each weapon had a intricate design to each of them, as well as looking deadly and extremely sharp. "It's two things. A dagger and a katana. But that's not all. I can combine them by doing this," Nia then slammed the two weapons handles together, a few sparks flying into the air. Nia then held the combined weapon in her right hand. "I call it _Dexterity_."

Ruby drooled at the intriguing weapon. "That's a cool name."

"Thanks!" Nia smiled again. "Hey, where did everybody go? There were people here and now they're gone."

"Oh I don't know, they might be at the mandatory assembly at the amphitheater!" Gray smirked.

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny, jerk! Let's get going!" Nia shouted and began running towards the assembly, Gray, Ruby and Jaune in tow.

* * *

Ruby sighed, wondering where her strange friend went. "Man, that does sound like a pretty eventful day." Yang declared getting up from the grass. The sun had set a while ago and the shattered moon had begun it's ascension. "Come on Ruby. We'll need our sleep for tomorrow."

"Ugh, do I have to? I have to sleep next to that Weiss Schnee girl."

"Who knows maybe she just had a bad day."

"I don't know, Yang. She was pretty mad at me. And I don't want to make my friend status to go down one because I made an enemy."

"What? You have two friends, heck you have three. That Jaune kid, Gray and that Nia girl. So if it does go down your at two. You also got that bow wearing girl as a potential friend." Ruby huffed and got up as well and joined her sister to the ballroom.

Once inside, the sisterly duo searched for two of Ruby's friends finding them next to two other people that Ruby didn't know. Gray sat on the floor wearing a sleeveless white shirt and pajama pants with small adorable Ursa heads on them. Nia was sitting next to the black haired boy wearing a simple yellow shirt and boy shorts. Just like earlier, Nia was very close to Gray but the boy didn't seem to notice.

The other people that Gray and Nia were talking to were, questionable. A boy was sitting on a chair, working on what seemed to be a metallic ball, others below his feet. The boy had neat, yet graying hair and ocean blue eyes. He wore a simple white shirt and pajama pants.

Next to him, to his right on the floor was a smiling brunette girl, wearing almost the exact same thing that Nia was wearing, safe for her shorts. Instead, the brunette wore checkered pajama pants.

Ruby pointed to the four and Yang walked along with her. "Uh, hey guys." Ruby quipped, causing Gray and Nia to turn their heads.

"Oh, hey Ruby!" The duo chirped. "What are ya doin'?" Nia continued.

"I wanted to introduce you guys to my sister, at least introduce my sister to Nia." Gray had known Yang just as long as he knew Ruby. "Yang, this is Gray's friend, Nia." Yang waved and Nia gave an enthusiastic salute.

"Hello! Nia! Nia May! Nice to meet you, Yang!"

"Pleasures all mine." Yang looked behind the two and saw the boy and brunette behind them. "Hey uh, who are they?" Nia snapped her head so she was looking at the other two behind her before 'oohing'.

"They're some friends of mine."

"Some friends?" The brunette asked, getting up from the floor. "How could you say such a thing, Nia." The girl grabbed Nia's shoulder and leaned to her left. "I'm Iris. Iris Hunt. And that lose over there is Rhys Müller." The boy looked up and gave a light wave before returning to the metallic balls.

"Wait, the Rhys Müller? The son of the CEO of the Müller Electronics Company?" Ruby and Yang gasped. Gray, Nia and Iris nodded and Ruby gave a light squeal. "Oh my god! They had a sister company that makes insane weapons! With crazy functions! OH MY GOD!" Ruby squealed like a girl. Suddenly, stomping was heard and Ruby turned around to see the Weiss Schnee girl walk up to her.

"What is going on here?! Some people are trying to get some sleep!"

"Ah! Weiss! Do you know who this is?! It's Rhys Müller! The son Jacob Müller, the CEO of the Müller Electronics Company!"

"I don't care about that! I want sleep!" As the heiress continued to yell at Ruby, Gray, Nia and Iris laughed at the duo. Rhys sighed and hid his strange metallic objects into a small backpack before yawning. It was interesting that the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company was in Beacon, but the boy will dwell on that in the morning.

"I'm calling it a night. You guys should too." Rhys stretched, a small, barely noticeable German accent in his smooth voice. The trio groaned but agreed. Rhys grabbed a small object he used for light and turned it off, signaling that he and everyone else was going to sleep.

Ruby grumbled and found her sleeping bag before slipping into it and closed her eyes, wanting to move this day to the back of her mind.

* * *

 **This story was just sitting there for I don't know how long, so I just decided to put it out. What do you guys think? Let me know in the reviews por favor. Also, what do you think of the Oc's? Iris, Rhys and Nia? Like I said, leave a review for, basically anything for this story, preferably on the OC's.**

 **With that said, have a great Day / Night everyone.**


	2. In The Making

Ruby's eyes snapped open, seeing small amounts of people walk around. Today was the day where teams and partners were formed. Today was also the day where everything Ruby needed to worry about was action and weapons. The young girl sprang up and grabbed her clothes before dashing into the open bathroom, not to far from where she slept.

Meanwhile, a blonde with red highlights broke her relaxing sleep and opened her red eyes. Nia groaned and sat up, yawning and popping her back. She then rubbed her eyes and looked around, finding her black haired friend next to her. "Ugh, Gray. Wake up."

"Mmm…" Gray groaned.

"Come on. I know it's early but we gotta." Nia and Gray weren't morning people and the fact that the had to wake up early didn't help. The black haired boy sat up and yawned loudly. The duo grabbed they're stuff and went to they're respective bathrooms. Iris snapped awake as soon as Gray and Nia left.

"Yay! Morning! Rhys wake up! Today's the day~!" She sang shaking the boy and he opened one eye.

"Go away."

"Nope! We gotta get you up and at 'em! So, I heard rumors on how teams and partners will be made, so I efficiently devised a plan…" Rhys slightly tuned out the girl as he got up and went through his morning trials. While brushing his teeth, Rhys tuned out Iris. While washing his face, Rhys tuned out the brunette.

Finally, Rhys has some quiet time away from the brunette, while he was getting dressed. The boy slipped into a snow white turtleneck sweater and black casual pants. He then put on a black light coat, leaving it open so his sweater could be seen. He then put on dark brown casual shoes.

Rhys walked out, meeting the friendly smile of Iris. Iris was wearing a shirt with a large Ursa head in the middle, the Grimm having large adorable eyes and it's mouth open. Lastly she was wearing leggings and sneakers. "Ready?"

"Were you waiting for me the entire time?" Rhys' accent showing.

"No, I vasn't vaiting for you. I just got here." Iris explained, toying with Rhys.

"Oh, you think you're funny, ja?"

"No! I was joking!" Iris laughed and apologized.

"Sure, Miss Comedian."

"What? You know I make those kinds of jokes." Iris said. "Anyways, we should find Gray and Nia."

"What? Those two? I think they need some time alone, mainly so they can start being a couple. Even though they haven't dated yet."

"Nia certainly tries."

"No, that's just her personality. You know she's the touchy type."The two laugh before going to the lockers where they're weapons were stored.

* * *

Rhys and Iris found the duo and said they're morning hellos and conversations. Meanwhile, Weiss was contemplating on how partners and teams would be formed. The heiress also considered her opinions. The warrior of Mystral, Pyrrha Nikos, she seemed great. Nice, strong of course and a overall great partner choice. Or maybe Rhys Müller, him and her as partners would be a dangerous combo…or that girl that exploded yesterday. 'No.' She instantly put Ruby as her last option, while taking out her prized weapon.

Rhys opened his locker and took out a small white briefcase, attaching it to the right side of his pants. Iris took out a large sheathe, a strange looking sword inside. However, it didn't stay in there long, as she quickly took it out.

The sword definitely was strange, the right side looking extremely dull compared to the other side. The left side of the weapon looked very sharp and intimidating, it even had large barbed segments up and down.

The sword seemed to be built for a savage monster, at least that's what Weiss thought. After everyone grabbed they're things, the soon to be student of Beacon, headed for the hill where Glynda told then to go.

* * *

"As you may all know, today is the day where teams and partners will be formed. And I'll tell you how they will be made." Ozpin spoke. Multiple students stood on strange metal platforms, some people paying attention while others didn't. "You will be launched from this hill into the forest below. As soon as you land, the first person that you make eye contact with will be your partner. Yes, they will be your partner for the four years you will be staying here and maybe in the future. After you have met your partner, the two of you must make your way to the center of the forest. Once there, you will find a relic, take said relic and bring it back here. Oh, and don't hold anything back. This forest will kill you." He said nonchalantly, causing Jaune to gulp.

"Uh, quick question?" Jaune croaked.

"Yes?"

"Are we gonna have like, parachutes or something?"

"No, you'll have to use your own way to land safely." Just as Ozpin finished his sentence, Jaune was flung into the air, joining the many others. Nia glanced at Gray before winking and flying away, Gray soon joining her. The duo sored in the air, spinning and doing all sorts of stunts.

Iris and Rhys were the last ones to be launched, Iris doing stunts while Rhys emotionlessly flew down to the approaching forest. Iris unsheathed her sword and dug it into a tree, spinning around it and burning off her momentum. Rhys grabbed onto a surprisingly high branch, swinging on it and landing on it, dulling the pain with his Aura. He then leaped down to the soft grass of the forest to meet Iris. "Howdy!" She smiled.

* * *

 ** _Two minutes earlier_**

Once the two were done with they're stunts, Gray and Nia descended down to the forest. Gray grabbed his weapon and unsheathed it. Pressing both triggers the strange scythe opened and transformed into it's real form. Gray hooked the blade on a branch, swung around it and dropped safely onto the ground. Once his feet were secure the boy began looking for Nia. "Nia! Hey! Where are you?!" The boy moved bushes and other shrubbery out of the way, only to meet the red eyes of none other than Nia May.

"Boo!" She giggled. The girl was hanging upside down from a branch, her foot caught on it.

"Jeez, what happened?"

"Oh you know, I decided to hang around while I waited for you."

"Hey, I'm the sarcastic one here." Gray pouted.

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, could you get me down?" Gray nodded and assisted the blonde with her situation. The boy managed to get her down, holding her in his arms briefly. The girl's cheeks flushed and she scrambled off of him.

"Aw! Is little Nia embarrassed?" Gray teased pinching Nia's cheek.

"Stop it jerk!" She hissed, batting Gray's hand out of her face and causing the boy to laugh. "You're so mean!"

"Don't say that!" The black haired boy cried, hugging the girl and picking her up. Nia squealed and kicked, laughing however.

"Put me down!" Suddenly, growls were heard beyond the distant trees. Gray put the girl down and held his scythe, pulling the two triggers to bring the scythe back to it's closed, one handed state.

"See what you did? All you negativity attracted them." Gray smiled.

"Negativity? I was smiling!" Nia countered, mashing her weapon into it's one handed, dagger and katana form.

"'Put me down' and 'You're so mean!'" Gray mocked before scanning the area. "There's five of them."

"I was being sarcastic! I got three in front of me."

"Hey, I said I'm the sarcastic one!" Gray managed to get out just when a Beowolf lunged at him. The boy sidestepped backwards before dashing up to the Beowolf, slashing across it.

Two more Beowolves appeared from the natural camouflage that was the Emerald Forest. The Grimm ran towards Nia, but she quickly moved out of the way, using her katana to dismember one of the Beowolves of they're leg. The blonde glided across the floor and slashed at the other Beowolf before quickly sliding away.

Gray slashed away at the Beowolf, dodging it's panicked and predictable attacks. The boy ducked from a predicted slash and dove for the Beowolf's legs, pulling both triggers on his weapon. The object had begun it's transformation and Gray spun away from the Beowolf, still staying under it's arm however. Once his weapon was in scythe form, Gray spun so he was looking at the Beowolf once more, before slashing the monsters legs off.

The Beowolf fell and used it's arms to get up and look for the boy. The Grimm then felt the cold blade at the front of it neck, before the blade ripped through it's neck, executed by the scythe wielder.

Nia was effectively handling the two Beowolves, dashing and attacking before dashing away again. One Beowolf lunged at her, leaping for her throat. The girl slid underneath the leaping Grimm before snapping the dagger of her katana. Nia the stabbed the Beowolf, continuing to slide and rip it in half.

Lastly, the crippled Beowolf crawled towards her, only to have the blade of Gray's weapon penetrate it's skull. "Nicely done Gray." Nia said.

"Thanks. But didn't you say there a three?"

"Uh, no. Three in total. Right?" Nia questioned herself while combining her weapon together.

"I guess. There's no third, uh, thingy." Gray sighed forgetting what a Grimm was.

"Really? A 'thingy'?"

"Shut up!"

"Look who's the negative one now, Mr. Sarcastic." Nia teased.

* * *

 _'Ugh! Unbelievable! Not only did I get the worse person to be my partner, but now she's dragged into riding a Nevermore!'_ Weiss screamed in her head. It was true, her partner for the next four years was Crater face and she somehow managed to drag Weiss into Nevermore riding.

"Weiss! I see the temple thingy! Let's jump!"

"What the heck is a 'thingy'?!"

"Just jump!" Ruby grabbed Weiss and peeled her off of the large Grimm. Weiss screamed as they fell, not expecting to be ripped off of the thing that was safe, but not really safe.

"Ruby! You psychopath! I'm gonna murder you if we live!"

"We'll live!" Ruby waved off. Down below Ruby's older sister and her partner, who just so happened to be the bow wearing girl, heard the commotion above.

"Is that your sister? The girl that exploded?"

"What?! Oh my god! Blake! We gotta do something." Yang then ran around trying to figure out where Ruby would land. "I got you! I got you Ruby!"

Blake stood there idly while having her arms extended. Ruby yelled and fell into Blake's arms. "Uh…thanks? Sorry, I don't know you name."

"Blake Belladonna."

"Hi. I'm Ruby, that goofball's sister." Ruby then pointed to Yang who was still running around, thinking Ruby is still falling. "Weiss! Weiss where are you!?"

"I'm up here!" The heiress yelled, causing her partner to look up. Weiss was sitting on Jaune's lap with a unpleased look. She then scoffed and moved away from the hero, heading towards Ruby's direction. Ruby smiled and ran towards Weiss only for the white haired girl to walk past her. Weiss looked at the many pedestals, seeing small white and black chess pieces. "Interesting relics." Weiss mumbled. Ruby, Yang and Blake ran towards here and scanned the pieces.

"I'm taking the pony." Yang blurted.

"Same." Ruby added, both of them grabbing a chess piece. Eventually, Jaune and his partner Pyrrha had join the group grabbing a piece as well. 'Whoop's' and yells were heard in the vast forest before a Ursa flew out from the trees, crashing into the ground. There was a girl on top of said Ursa and a boy next to it.

"Aw, it's tired." The girl pouted.

"Nora…never…again…"The boy panted. One thing that Ruby noticed was that he had a magenta stripe on his hair. The two rushed over and introduced themselves, one much older than the other. Thw two than grabbed another piece.

Finally, Rhys, Iris, Nia and Gray appeared, albeit in strange ways. Rhys and Iris had stumbled upon the temple, while Nia and Gray found the temple in the complete opposite direction of the entrance. "Huh, there's the White and Black Queen and the White and Black King. I say, King." Gray requested.

"Agreed." Rhys nodded. Nia and Iris shrugged. Gray and Rhys grabbed the White and Black Kings and smiled. The twelve of them then ran for Beacon Hill, hearing a caw from the Nevermore that Weiss and Ruby rode.

* * *

After the initiation was over, the students that had recovered they're pieces waited for they're names to be called and they're team to be formed. "…Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie. You four had recovered the White Rook pieces, and so you will be Team JNPR, and the leader is…Jaune Arc." Ozpin announced. The team's leader had a shocked look on his face as Nora jumped in happiness. The team shook Ozpin's hand and they walked off the stage.

"Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xaio Long and Ruby Rose. You four have collected the White Knight pieces, and so you four will form team RWBY, and Ruby Rose will be the leader." Ruby and Weiss had a shocked expression, but the latter's expression grew more annoyed and angry. _'Unbelievable!'_ Weiss screamed. The young leader's sister gave her a loving bear hug and the four walked off stage.

"Last, but not least. Rhys Müller, Iris Hunt, Nia May and Mr. Gray. You four have retrieved both King pieces. Such a thing hasn't happened in a while. You four will form Team GRIN and Gray will be your leader." Nia squealed and jumped into Gray's arms, shouting into his ear. Iris congratulated him and Rhys patted the boy's back. "And those are the teams for Beacon's freshman year!" The students applauded once again, congratulating each other for making it.

"This year, is going to be very interesting." Ozpin said to himself. The professor then looked out into one of the many windows in the ballroom, staring into the pale shattered moon. "Very interesting…"

* * *

 **And that's the start! I was going to have this chapter and the last one combined but, I decided not to. What did you guys think? j know it was kinda boring, but i needed to get the 'Intro' done. Also, should I switch it to White Rose instead of OcxWeiss? Because I'm starting to think about doing that. Let me know. Criticism is a writer's best friend. Right?**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed. Once again, let me know in the reviews if you want me to continue with this, even though I might, who knows anymore.**

 **With that said, have a great Day / Night everyone!**


	3. Harassment At It's Finest

The sounds of metal clashing together filled the large room. Professor Goodwitch's class had always been a favorite, mainly because it was a class of combat. Goodwitch had set up different fights so students would know what to expect from the upcoming Vytal Festival.

One situation in particular was the doubles round. The round would be one group of partners from one team, against another group from another team. Goodwitch started the chain of battles by selecting the first pair of partners to fight. The two would be Jaune and Pyrrha, against Cardin and Russell.

Jaune and Pyrrha were on the defensive, or at least Jaune was. The poor blonde had to take on the brute known as Cardin Winchester all by himself, meanwhile Pyrrha was pummeling Cardin's partner. The blonde's weapon clashed with Cardin's, both of them pushing each other back.

"This is the part where you lose." Cardin smiled.

"Over my dead-AH!" A low blow crashed into Jaune and the boy fell over.

Pyrrha glanced over to her partner and noticed Cardin towering over him. Springing into action, Pyrrha eliminated Russell from the fight before sprinting towards Cardin. Preparing a throw, the red head threw her spear, the object colliding with Cardin's hand. Once the red head reached the brute, she kicked him in the chest, knocking him back.

The warrior then activated her semblance, pulling her spear towards her. Lastly, Pyrrha attacked Cardin with strike after strike, until finally, the boy's Aura broke. A wave of claps and praise congratulated Pyrrha. "Well, done Miss Nikos. Now class, as you noticed, once your partner is defeated or they're Aura is depleted you must take on both of your opponents. Mr. Arc, next time please keep an eye on your Aura, it could save your life."

Jaune sighed and took the hand of his partner's before walking to where the rest of the students were sitting. "Now, the next match up will be…Rhys Müller and Iris Hunt, against Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee." Goodwitch announced. Gray slapped Rhys' back and Nia gave a thumbs up to Iris.

"You got this guys! Team GRIN, for the win!" Nia then squealed when she realized that the motto rhymed. The pairs of partners walked to the middle of the arena, Rhys and Iris side by side, as well as the White Rose duo.

"Good luck guys!" Ruby smiled.

"Thanks! You too!" Iris returned. Rhys stayed silent, most likely studying the white and red girls. Weiss seemed to be doing the same. Finally, Weiss and Ruby readied they're weapons. Iris unsheathed her sword, the weapon looking incredibly dangerous for both they're opponent and they're owner. The brunette then slung the sword onto her shoulder, the blunt side meeting her right shoulder. Iris winked at Ruby right before Goodwitch began to count down the match.

"Three…Two…One…Begin!" Iris and Ruby lunged at each other, the younger slicing diagonally on Iris' left. However, the scythe's blade never made contact with her. Instead, it made contact with Iris' weapon, the girl blocked the attack with one hand and managed to keep Ruby back.

'This will be tough.' Ruby thought before smiling.

Meanwhile, the heir and heiress continued to stare at each other. Finally, they began circled each other, Weiss' blade constantly pointing in Rhys' direction. The heiress was confused, even bewildered. 'Where's his weapon?'

Suddenly, the boy plant his hand on the small briefcase attached to his side. The briefcase opened and it's contents revealed to be three metallic balls, just like the ones before initiation. Rhys grabbed the three and bright white colors blinked in very small squares. The balls had a white circular line across they're middle segment, seemingly splitting the top half from the bottom. After they're lights were on, Rhys threw the ball into the air, confusing the heiress more.

However, the balls hovered in front of Rhys.

Shockingly, the metallic balls hovered and even orbited around the boy. He smiled and then pointed at the heiress. A unexpected ball smashed into the heiress' stomach, knocking her back slightly. Weiss glared at the smiling boy as the ball flew back and joined the perfect orbit of the strange objects around Rhys. The heiress stood up and straightened herself out before walking towards Rhys. The boy pointed to her again, but Weiss dodged a expected ball.

However she didn't expect two more to collide into her. The girl growled in anger, realizing that this will be more difficult than she thought.

Ruby stepped back and narrowly avoided the blunt end of Iris' weapon. Since the attack missed, the weapon collided into the ground. Ruby jumped and fired her sniper, knocking Iris back and Ruby back as well. Iris smiled at the young leader before throwing her weapon to her shoulder again. But with a new motion.

Iris pulled the trigger just above the sword's hilt and the sword transformed. Instead of the strong, well built blade, it broke up into small segments, a barb on every segment. The fact that the sword broke up, revealed the inside, which seemed to be strange, dark, thick wires connecting each segment. The blades segments followed each other in a smooth motion, curving when Iris lifted the hilt of the sword to he shoulder. The barbed segments crashed together, forming a, seemingly extended blade.

Once Ruby was done marveling at the sight of Iris' weapon, she dashed ahead. The younger heard Iris' weapon churn as she shrugged it off her shoulder and angled it towards Ruby. What the girl didn't expect was the blade to smack into her from fifteen yards away. The weapons' wires extended and caused the sword's blade to extend, able to hit Ruby from such a distance. "What the heck was that?!" Ruby shouted.

"It's my weapon's transformation. It goes from a sword to a bladed whip."

"That's so cool!"

Weiss was beginning to get agitated. Rhys managed to predict and dodge every single attack, lunge, stab, everything. The boy always kept his distance, using his strange weapon's long range as a way to attack.

What annoyed Weiss more was that he wouldn't even lift a finger! Rhys would either have his hands in his pockets or together in front of him like some sort of mad scientist.

However, now was Weiss' chance to knock the bastard down. The girl stepped and dashed forward when the boy would step back, not letting him gain any sort of distance. A precise stab was be blocked by a perfectly positioned ball. Weiss sidestepped out of the way just before a ball smashed down on top of her.

The heiress took a stab at Rhys, smiling when it made contact. The boy slid back and stood straight again, the three hovering balls returning to they're owner. Rhys frowned briefly before returning to his straight face.

Rhys' hands closed together, the tips of his fingers only making contact with they're cousins. The heiress began another assault, easily dodging the three metallic balls. However, the heiress expected to be hit in the back by the three objects .

What she didn't expect was to be attack by ten.

The sudden impact of the objects shocked the heiress, she fell to the ground and witnessed the objects return to they're master, orbiting him. "Unbelievable." Weiss mumbled. Having enough of this, Weiss stood up and activated the red Dust in her rapier. The girl then dashed at Rhys, the boy expected a diagonal slice with the speed Weiss as using. However, the girl had other plans.

Weiss bolted past Rhys before abruptly stopping, and redirecting her speed with a glyph, seeing the back of Rhys. The metallic balls went to protect they're owner, however it was to late. Weiss stabbed at the back of Rhys, a small explosion appearing before the tip of the heiress' rapier. The explosion intensified massively, to the point where the explosion was like a bomb going off.

The blast knocked each fighter backwards, knocking Weiss to the ground. Rhys recovered and gave the heiress a scowl, the boy's weapons return to him before orbiting.

Before the heir finished his battle, Rhys heard a loud clang and groan. The sound came from his left and the boy glanced over, only to see his partner fly towards his direction.

Iris slid to his feet, he weapon soon joining her. "Sorry, Rhys. The kid is good." She coughed out. Rhys snapped his head to Ruby's direction, before throwing a fist at her. Although he was far away, it didn't stop him from attacking. Rhys' weapons followed his arm's movement and lunged at Ruby.

The younger did her best to avoid and dodge the weapons, however the girl was soon hit with multiple.

Using Ruby's distraction as a advantage, Weiss retrieved her rapier and sprinted to Rhys, ready to end the fight. With one last lunge, Weiss stabbed Rhys in the back, destroying his Aura and knocking him to the ground.

The heiress had done it right in the nick of time as well. A second later and Ruby would have been eliminated from the fight. "Stop!" Goodwitch interrupted. "Ms. Schnee, please be careful for the other students." Weiss glanced down to see Iris next to Rhys' side, constantly asking him if he was ok. As Goodwitch explained that this would count as a elimination for the Vytal Tournament, Weiss felt more guilty.

"Hey, Rhys…" The boy turned from Iris to stare into Weiss' ice blue eyes. "I apologize for hurting you, I didn't mean anything by it."

"No, you're fine. That was a very interesting fight. It seems I underestimated you. That won't happen again. You haven't seen what my semblance and prototype could do." Weiss slowly cracked a smile and reached for Rhys' hand, the boy accepting her assistance.

"Well done, Ms. Schnee and Rose, and a good try to you Mr. Müller and Ms. Hunt." The professor then turned to the audience of students. "That does it for this class. You're dismissed."

* * *

The slamming of a tray broke Jaune of his trance before he quickly zoned out again. "Ah!" The culprit of the tray slamming sighed and sat down next to his old friend.

Although the two haven't seen each other for a time, it didn't stop them from being extremely closer than normal people. The young leader's partner found it odd, but put it aside. _'I feel like those two can't be explained'._ Weiss sighed.

Said two were talking about what things the two of them missed about each other. The raved haired boy was pretty close to the leader, and the leader didn't seem to care, bewildering the heiress. Turning to her left, she glanced at Rhys, the boy silently eating and ignoring the onslaught that was Iris.

The Müller family was extremely interesting, but vague. The Müller's and Weiss' family had a small 'alliance', The Müller's would give the Schnee's advanced items and supplies, advanced as in more 'high-tech'. The Müller's would also have one of they're many sister companies work as guards. The overall Müller 'corporation' was spread to mostly Security, Science and lastly, Electronics. The Müller family rose to power by starting off with 'Electronics', biometric security and privacy, etc. The family company was known for having the top of line researchers and materials, as well as the best R&D.

As for the Schnee's side of the deal, they would supply the Müller's 'Science' branch with the best Dust, as well as the other branches, assisting the . The Dust would be used to make self defense weapons, newer, stronger versions of Dust, and other discoveries. Lastly, they would offer facilities to test certain experiments and projects…legally.

The Müller and Schnee family seemed to go way back, however when it came to Weiss and Rhys, the two never met. They're parents never seemed to mention one to the other. This was actually the first time she actually met such a frie-…ally. "So…Rhys, how's your family?" Weiss struggled. The heiress waited patiently for him to swallow his food to speak.

"They're fine. How's your family? Still cold?" The boy then laughed. "Why did I even bother? Of course you're still cold-hearted." Weiss didn't know to either be offended or flattered.

So she went with the former.

"Wha?! How dare yo-"

"Relax, _Erbin_. It was a joke. Even though it's true." The boy explained, muttering the last part of the sentence under his breath.

"What did you call me?"

" _Erbin._ It means heiress in German. It suits you." The heiress huffed and looked away as Iris laughed. The white haired girl then turned to the warrior of Mystral, remembering something.

"Pyrrha, that was a interesting display in Professor Goodwitch's class. Was that your semblance?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. When I pulled my weapon toward me, yes that was my semblance. Polarity." Pyrrha then turned her attention to Rhys again. "Mr. Müller, what is your semblance. It seems like a mystery."

"You want to know what my semblance is? You just saw it." Pyrrha looked at the boy confused. "It's duplication. My weapon in total is three balls. I used my semblance to duplicate them and make multiple." Pyrrha and Weiss nodded, remembering that for potential skirmishes with the boy. The only problem is that they didn't know how many he can make.

Down the table, the two best friends talked about what were they going to do with each other. "Wanna go to Vale? We could do some silly things there." Gray offered.

"Hmm, maybe. Or, we could go to my dorm and watch this show X-Ray and Vav. It's really good."

"Isn't it based on the comics?" Ruby nodded, smiling because her friend hadn't changed a bit.

"Yep. Wanna watch it?"

"X-Ray and chill?" A sudden pain in his arm made Gray yelp and turn to Yang. "What the heck?!"

"Don't ruin X-Ray and Vav by combining it with 'chilling'. Also don't tell Ruby about 'chilling'. She's to young." Yang explained. Gray nodded but not before yelling at the blonde for the random display of violence. So the two settled on what they were going to do and smiled.

Finally, at the edge of the table was the lovable Jaune Arc. His partner, Pyrrha, noticed that his normal awkward attitude, had changed to a somber silent one. "What's the matter Jaune? You seem upset."

"Yeah." Gray added, slinging am arm around Ruby. This had become a habit for the boy. The young leader was completely fine with the arm thing, the small action was one of the many things that Gray did in they're past. "Is that Cardin douche bothering you?"

"Yeah, he does seem to bother you a lot." Ruby contributed in the questioning.

"What? No, me and Cardin are like best buds!" The table shakes they're heads simultaneously and list off the many things Cardin had done to his 'buddy' Jaune. Wedgies activating the blonde shield-sheathe, and launching the boy out of Beacon with his locker-rocket. "All of those things are just him showing his unrelenting affection towards me." Jaune continued. The table continued to stare at him, unamused.

"Hey, I'm not the only one he's bullying! Look!" The blonde pointed to the orange haired brute picking on a small Faunus girl with long adorable bunny ears. Insults like 'freak' and 'bitch' were thrown at the girl.

The poor Faunus pleaded for then to stop before escaping her torture, running out of the large cafeteria. The table looked at the display in disgust, two in particular had scowls.

Gray and Nia.

The partners looked at each other and nodded. The two stood from the table and walked out, the rest of the group was left to stare at them. "Don't worry!" Iris smiled. "They do this all the time!" Ruby smiled slightly, seeing that her friend's personality hasn't changed. _'Still defensive. Oh, jeez._ _I'd hate to see what Gray would do if that was me.'_

The young leader then noticed the absence of Gray one arm hug, her smile faltering a bit.

It didn't take long for the G and N of GRIN to return, with the Faunus girl in tow. Gray and Nia led the small girl behind the annoyed Gray. "Yo Cardin!" The brute turned just in time to receive a solid punch, knocking him down. Cardin's team then stepped to help him, but a glare from Nia made them throw they're hands up and back away.

Cardin massaged his chin, not expecting the punch. He also didn't expect to be forced to his feet and punched in the stomach. "Look, I'm a nice guy. I don't wanna fight you." Gray then looked away before returning his intimidating glare at Cardin. "You know what? That's a lie. I wanna kick your teeth out, put them in a blender and a make you drink it. But! I can put all of that aside. If, and only if you apologize to this adorable girl right here." Gray moved out of Cardin's sight and pointed to a awkward small Faunus girl.

"Why? She's a Faunus a frea-" Gray then cut him off.

"Upupup! No, I didn't say insult her, I said _apologize_!" The void black eyed boy growled and gripped Cardin's head roughly.

"Ah! Fine! I'm sor…"

"What was that? I'm sorry thought I heard a half-assed apology."

"I'm sorry! Now get off of me!" Cardin growled.

"Atta boy! Was that so hard? Now…" Gray spun Cardin around and roughly grabbed his shirt, lifting the boy off the ground. "If you so much a look at her, I'm gonna find you, break you jaw and teeth so you only have gums, and force you preform dental hygiene with a razor toothbrush, got it?" Cardin hesitantly nodded. "Great!" The bully's 'bully' then threw him to the rest of his team before walking off, the bully's 'bully's' partner in crime behind him.

"Oh, Faunus girl! You can sit with us if you want to." Nia informed.

"T-thanks. My-my name's Velvet."

"Nice to meet cha Velvet! I'm Gray and this one over here is Nia." The partners return to they're seats and Gray's arm returns to Ruby's neck, much to her over enjoyment.

Meanwhile, the big bad brute off Beacon was plotting on his next diabolical scheme. "That asshole thinks I'm scared of him? Oh, we'll see."

* * *

 **Hey-yo! Hope you guys liked this one! I had a lot of fun writing the combat and also Gray's really questionable threats. The Müller's have a history with Weiss' family. In a honesty, I feel like that part was kinda funky.**

 **Tell me if it was ok or not.**

 **And lastly, Ruby and Gray's 'relationship' is starting! Now, I'm kinda torn on how I'm doing it. Just like Gray Rose or differ from it, etc. I DON'T want it to be like how The Faunus is going to be. Mainly because this paring is so much fun and amusing to me I just want to get into the nitty-gritty of it and more comedy will come out.**

 **With all that said have a great Day / Night everyone!**


	4. Advice

Professor Oobleck's class was always fast-paced and extremely hard to understand…at least to some people. Team RWBY, JNPR, GRIN, CRDL and Velvet were all in said class. The Professor dashed around class, rivaling Ruby's speed. Oobleck spouted key points of the infamous Faunus War, while Blake, Pyrrha, Iris, Rhys and Weiss wrote down notes.

The others like Nora, Nia, Yang and Ren weren't really paying attention, albeit slightly.

The leaders of both RWBY and GRIN were slightly dosing off, using each other as something to lay on. The leader of team JNPR was sound asleep unnoticed by the hyper-active teacher. Above the sleeping blonde, was none other than his bully, Cardin.

The bully sat back smiling to himself. "…Now! Which one of you have been harassed by other because of your Faunus heritage?" Few, reluctant hands rose to the air. Velvet looked upwards to Nia, knowing she wouldn't get any approval from the dosing leader of team GRIN. The blonde smiled and nodded to the Faunus. Velvet then slowly raised her hand as well. "Saddening, to say the least." Professor Oobleck then continued his lesson, occasionally throwing out questions.

Cardin sat there bored until he made a small paper football aiming it at the back of a unsuspecting Jaune's head. The bully flicked the paper triangle at Jaune, making contact. The boy jolted awake and gasped, gaining the attention of the ever so hyper, Professor Oobleck. "Ah, yes! Mr. Arc! Tell me, what was the advantage that the Faunus had that led to the downfall of Lieutenant Lagoon?" Not knowing the answer, Jaune looked for clues. Luckily for him, Pyrrha signaled hand signs and other motions to signify the answer.

After struggling to decode Pyrrha's 'advanced' hand signals, Jaune realized the answer. "Binoculars!" The blonde seemed to be proud of his answer, but was immediately let down by a uproar of laughter from the class.

"Very, funny Mr. Arc." Oobleck sighed. The blonde hid his head in embarrassment, hearing his tormentor snickering above him. "Mr. Winchester, do you know?"

"Well," Cardin began. "I know it's a heck of a lot easier than to train a animal than a human." Pyrrha and Nia scoff at the boy.

"You really are a self-centered prick, aren't you Cardin?" Nia snapped, the girl had a reputation for protecting others and she wasn't going to let this 'tough guy' ruin it.

"You got a problem, blondie?" The bird named bully threatened.

"Nah, you were asked with a problem. But, since you clearly don't know it, I'll let some one else answer. Pyrrha?"

"Thank you, Nia." Pyrrha nodded. "The correct answer would be night vison. Faunus are known for having exceptional sight in near dark areas."

"Lieutenant Lagoon thought it was best to attack the Faunus at night." Blake added. "Due to his lack of sight, Lagoon's army was quickly defeated and Lagoon was captured." The raven haired girl then turned to Cardin. "Maybe if you paid attention in class instead of bothering others, you'd know more and would stop acting like a complete moron." The bully growled and stood up before sitting down when Oobleck took control of the rising situation.

"Cardin…please take your seat." The bully hesitantly sat down, glaring at Jaune who was laughing at him. "You and Mr. Arc will stay after class for a extra assignment." Jaune sighed and shifted his head onto his desk.

* * *

The history class soon ended and RWBY GRIN and NPR walked out, the 'J' still in the classroom. Team RWBY along with the leader of GRIN soon left the hallway. Both leaders of said teams had seemed to be inseparable, causing small rumors to be spread throughout the group of friends.

Yang had to quickly explain that, the two were always like this. Even when Yang first met Gray he was always by Ruby's side, always assisting the younger. The boy was also extremely overprotective, much worse than the blonde. Yang shivered at the thought of what happened to that spider when it bit Ruby.

Yang had to also explain to the group that they wanted to make up for lost time. JNPR or, NPR, understood completely, especially Nora. She'd want to make up time if she has been disconnected from Ren. With all that said, Yang soon left to join her partner and resident heiress, leaving behind Ren, Nora and Pyrrha.

"You guys go to the dorm, I'll wait for Jaune." Pyrrha said before seeing Nora salute and skip off, Ren in tow.

It didn't take long for Jaune to appear from the room, however the way he came out was, upsetting. The blonde was shoved out into the hallway, Cardin's laughs filling the spacious hallway. Pyrrha ran to Jaune's side, assisting him. "I am going to break his legs if he does that again."

"No, don't Pyrrha. There's no point." Suddenly, a idea formed in the warrior's head.

"Jaune. Come with me." The boy looked confused before being dragged off.

* * *

The two best friends were had a strange friendship. Although they've been separated for a time, Ruby and Gray seem to be just as friendly to each other when they were kids.

The duo's friendship had lasted for a very long period of time.

Ever since Ruby's birth.

The black haired boy had been around Ruby for a long time and they're friendship had been sealed. Like Yang had explained to the NPR of JNPR, the two wouldn't be separated. A lot of times the boy had to spend the night at Ruby's to avoid her impending sadness of being without her first and best friend.

Gray was Ruby's very first and only friend for a time, and vise versa, hence why he was, and still, 'paranoid' for her. The young leader found Gray's jumpyness for her extremely funny and adorable, seeing a 17 year old afraid for her wellbeing was odd and interesting at the same time.

Most people would look at the two and think that they're a couple, with the way they interacted with each other and everything, especially with Gray. The boy was known for his snarky yet, flirty attitude.

Said 17 year old was 'snuggling' with her while watching they're favorite show; X-Ray and Vav.

"Hey Ruby?" Gray spoke before sighing. The young leader of RWBY was sitting behind the boy, further on Weiss' bed than Gray, who was basically at the edge of the owner's bed. The two were watching the cartoon on Gray's scroll, Ruby watching over his shoulder.

The young scythe wielder had one arm over Gray's shoulder and one on his head, petting the boy. "Yeah?"

"Is it me or do you sound like a younger version of Hilda?"

"Hmm…" Ruby pondered. "Yeah, actually I kinda do, weird."

"You voice acting?" Ruby giggled.

"Nah, I wish though. It be awesome."

"Why are you petting me?" Ruby shrugged but continued to massage the top of Gray's head.

"Dunno, you like it though."

"Hey, remember when you called me a dog? When we were kids?"

"Don't remind me!" Ruby blushed, causing the boy to laugh. "Besides, you still are one." This made Ruby smirk.

"Bark!" Gray shouted, turning and leaping on top of Ruby. The younger shrieked before giggling, thrashing and flailing her arms to get away from Gray. The boy tickled her sides and continued to 'bark', earning more laughs and pleads for air.

"Rrr…" Gray growled before biting Ruby's neck, screams and laughs filled the room as Ruby repeatedly attempted to push Gray away yet, no progress was made.

"Gray! S-stop! I-I-I can't b-breathe!" Finally, Ruby's harasser stopped and hovered above the gasping girl. The leader's harasser stared at her, the young leader's red face was slowly going away and her small chest began to return to it's normal rising and falling. Gray chuckled.

"So, am I still a dog?" Ruby then glared at the boy, slapping his hands out of her face.

"Jer-" Suddenly, the door to team RWBY's dorm was opened and the leaders sister peeked her head in.

"Ruby? Gray? You guys aren't doing anything 'mature', are you?" Yang turned just to see the two and Gray above Ruby, the younger's hands on his chest. Both of them had the same red face of embarrassment, Ruby much worse. "Oh! Yep. You two are doin' 'mature' stuff. I'll leave you guys to it. Oh, make sure you don't stain Weiss' bed. Ok? Ok!" Yang winked in Gray direction before closing the door.

The friends glanced at each other before the red clad leader blushed even more, making her best friend smile. "…So embarrassing!"

* * *

Pyrrha has led Jaune to a roof of the large school, the blonde looked down at the edge, sighing. "Jeez Pyrrha, I know I'm depressed but I'm not that depressed."

"No! We did not come up here for that!" The red head sighed. "We can use this spot. In secret."

"And um, do what exactly?"

"We can train here. Together, so you can be better in combat."

"What?" Jaune asked, voice hushed. "You think I need help?"

"N-no. Not in that way. I believe that you need a push and we can use this as that push."

"No…" The blonde mumbled, Pyrrha barely picked it up.

"Jaune?"

"I said no. I don't want nor need any help!" The outburst made Pyrrha step back in shock. "I am sick and tired of being the lovable idiot who stands there idly while my friends fight for they're lives! I want to be the hero for once! But that won't happen. I'm useless…a failure." Jaune sighed, ruffling his hair.

"Jaune, you are not a failure. You have made it into Beacon! Surely, there has to be a reason as to why you are here."

"Your wrong…"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Your wrong! I don't deserve a place here. I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and that's how I'm here." _'What?'_ Pyrrha gasped.

"But Jaun-"

"Pyrrha. Please, just don't." The warrior ducked her head before nodding.

"If that is what you think is best." The red head seemed to be devoid of any emotion. She turned heel and walked away. Jaune watched her leave and sighed once again.

"What are you doing Jaune?"

"I know exactly what you're doing." _'Oh no.'_

Cardin.

Quickly, Jaune turned around to see Cardin at the edge of the roof, a smile on his face. "C-Cardin? What – why are you here?"

"I should be asking you that question. I didn't expect you to be the one that would sneak into such a prestigious school."

"What do you want?" Cardin then approached and nervous blonde, locking him in a playful choke hold.

"I just wanted to say hey to my bestest friend. Hey, you think you can do that stuff Oobleck assigned us? I'm really busy and I'd appreciate it, greatly. Ok? Great." The brute didn't even give Jaune the choice before shoving the kid away. Cardin the vanished from the roof, once again leaving Jaune alone.

"Great, now you really messed up Jaune."

* * *

The grueling blackmailing of Cardin had began to take it's toll on Jaune for the past three days. For each day the bully gave Jaune some useless or downright lazy 'challenge'. The leader was also slowly losing his team, seeing less and less of them along with his partner being annoyed with him.

The leader sighed, closing the door to his teammates, two of them wondering where they're leader was. "Hey! Jaune!" The leader of the team across the hall chirped. Jaune turned around to see the younger in her pajamas, as well as a best friend of hers behind her.

The girl seemed a little bit awkward next to Gray, yet standing little closer to the shirtless boy.

"Oh, hey Ruby, Gray."

"You locked out again?" Ruby smiled.

"Uh, um no! See I have it!" The blonde then slid down on a wall. "I messed up Ruby." The two best friends looked at each other before returning they're looks to Jaune.

"What's up?" They both asked. Jaune sighed.

"I'm being blackmailed by Cardin into doing stupid crap, Pyrrha won't talk to me and…and…I'm thinking coming to Beacon was a mistake. I'm a failure." Once again, the two best friends glanced at each other before Gray nodded in Jaune's direction.

"Nope." Ruby said simply. Gray folded his and nodded, resting the knotted appendages on top of Ruby's head.

"Huh?" Jaune wondered.

"Nah." Ruby repeated along with Gray. "Look, Jaune…" Ruby continued. "You can't afford or even be a failure. Not anymore. You have a team to take of. To protect. You can't be a failure because if you're one, your whole team is going to fail." Ruby lowered her head slightly. "Because I was just like you sort of."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was announced that I was leader, I may have looked happy but…I was actually extremely nervous. I, socially awkward Ruby Rose, was leader of a team in Beacon. Let's just say, I was…a failure. I lost sleep and everything until…" Ruby then glanced up at Gray, his arms now around Ruby's neck, albeit lazily. The boy smirked at Ruby, making the younger smile back.

"This guy helped me with feeling down."

"Yep, all it took was this; Jaune, failure is a word that's used temporarily. It never last forever. Now, if you think you're a failure that's fine. But it's temporary, it won't last. Whatever you did to lead you here at this point can be fixed. Take this cutie for example." Gray then tightened his lazy hold on Ruby, still not looking away from Ruby.

"All in all Jaune, no matter what you think now, it's temporary. Failure is temporary, it's what you do with it that will make it permanent."

"Thanks Gray." Jaune smiled faintly and nodded.

"No problem. G'night, Little Rose." Gray yawned, removing his arms from Ruby's neck and to her waist. The girl turned around and returned the embrace, smiling. Jaune shifted awkwardly, the hugging duo seemed to have lost themselves in each other. The tall boy pulled away and ruffled Ruby's hair before walking down the hallway to his dorm.

"Goodnight Gray!" Ruby whisper – shouted. She then turned to Jaune, red faced. "Hope things work out Jaune! Goodnight Jaune!" Ruby smiled, closing the door to her dorm.

Jaune was alone once again, sighing when his scroll went off. Opening it, the device revealed Cardin's face and name as well as his next 'assignment'. Groaning, the boy rose from the floor and went to retrieve whatever Cardin needed.

* * *

 _ **Hours later…**_

The young leader of team RWBY tossed and turned on her bunk, much to her sleeping partner's terror. Unable to sleep Ruby looked around her room. Her sister was snoring away, her partner sleeping softly.

Blake had seemed to be a mystery to the leader, the younger hoped that the mystery of her wouldn't last. Finally, her partner was turned to the wall, most likely having a scowl on her face.

Ruby blew a quiet raspberry in annoyance.

Suddenly, her Scroll went off, silently vibrating on her bed. Scrounging up, the leader opened her Scroll to a text with a familiar name.

 _Gray: Hey, I can't sleep_

Ruby laughed quietly and laid back down on her bed, one arm underneath one of her pillows and gripping it. She then extended her left arm and texted the boy back.

 _Ruby: Same, what are you doing?_

It didn't take long for the boy to respond back.

 _Gray: Dummy, I'm talkin to u_

The younger blushed even though Gray wasn't there.

 _Ruby: Jerk shut up!_

The two then continued to text, telling jokes and laughing quietly in they're respective dorms. Hours seem to pass until finally, after they're twelfth 'goodnight' and winky faces they turned they're scrolls off.

Ruby shifted in her bed and closed her eyes, managing to go to sleep thanks to her goofy friend.

* * *

 **I tried to end it off with a happy cute note. Let me know if you guys/gals liked it in the reviews. Or just ask me a question.**

 **With that said have a great Day / Night everyone!**


	5. Standing Up To The KING

The next day was filled with a scheduled field trip to the infamous, yet beautiful forest; Forever Fall. Teams RWBY, JNPR, GRIN, CRDL and CFVY, as well as other students, walked together through the beautiful forest.

Goodwitch, who was the group of students chaperone, led them through the wondrous sight. "Now remember class, Professor Peach has requested that each of you would retrieve a bottle of sap from these trees. Now, be wary. Since we're in the depths of Forever Fall, there is a unknown amount of Grimm. Do not be afraid to defend yourself." Goodwitch then looked around the abundance of students. "Now, run along." The two best friends glanced at each other before running off, they're teams in tow.

Team JNPR was about to join the smiling jewel combo, but a certain bully dragged Jaune away. Nora and Pyrrha looked back at him, the blonde's partner shrugged and looked away, heading towards the rest of her friends.

Jaune sighed as Cardin and his rabble of teammates dragged him off.

* * *

After half an hour of retrieving bottle after bottle of sap, the exhausted leader of team JNPR collapsed. It seemed that he was allergic to the sticky substance, mostly because his breathing and nose were acting strange. "Nicely done, Jauney Boy."

"Why'd you, ugh, need so many? There's only five of us. I got six." Cardin smiled at the curious boy and stood from the cool ground.

"Come with me, and you'll find out." The bully's lackeys picked up Jaune and dragged him through the beautiful forest. Finally, CRDL and Jaune arrived at they're destination, a small cliff just above some students. But with further detail, the students were none other than the blonde's dear friends.

"Pyrrha…" Said woman looked at her newly filled bottle of sap. With the rest of his team, Ren and Nora were teaming up to collect they're sap, the latter slightly yet incidentally sabotaged them. Team GRIN were already finished and the IN of GRIN decided to partake in the trees contents, while the R stood there and sighed.

The G of GRIN was assisting his good friend Ruby with sap, albeit in a odd way. The leader of team RWBY was on the shoulders of Gray, the red clad leader helping the both of them.

"Wait, what's going on?" Jaune asked.

"Well Jaune, you're gonna help me with getting some revenge." The bully then stops a cardboard box, said box was labeled 'Rapier Wasps'. "From what your essay you did for me, these little things love sweets, especially the sap here. So, we'll use them." Cardin's goons laugh in the background as Jaune took all of this in.

"Wait, by what do you mean 'use' them?" The brute then turned to Jaune, a bottle of sap in hand.

"Well Jauney Boy, you are gonna throw this at Pyrrha, Nia or that Gray douchebag." He then turned to said duo, which were conversing, most likely on something bizarre that Nia enjoys. "Look at them, they think they're so great. Honestly, I'd prefer Gray but, it's your choice. Actually, no. Throw it at him." The bully shoved the jar into Jaune's hands.

The blonde stared at the black eyed boy looking to his best friend, who was laughing. Beads of sweat formed on Jaune's forehead. "Do it, or I'll have a little talk with Goodwitch." Cardin threatened. Millions of scenarios ran through his mind.

If he did this, he'd lose everything. He'd lose Pyrrha, his team. He'd lose his friends. That won't happen.

"…No…"

"What? What'd you say?"

"I said… _NO_!" Jaune turned heel and threw the bottle of sap in Cardin's direction. The satisfying sound of glass breaking filled the air. But the look on Cardin's face destroyed Jaune satisfactory.

"Oh, Jaune. Look what you did." Russell and Sky walked to either side of Jaune, grabbing his arms. Cardin attempted to wipe the sap off of his chest but nothing happened. A fist soon made contact with Jaune's stomach, then another. Cardin's lackeys threw the blonde on the ground before shortly being picked back up.

Cardin held the boy by his shirt, his other arm held back. "When I'm done, they'll send you back in pieces." Cardin swung again and Jaune flinched, before a white light emitted from him. A yelp of pain was heard in the blinding light and suddenly, Jaune was dropped.

However the relief on his shirt was quickly replaced by another grueling kick. The blonde's punishment was soon stopped by a loud, terrifying roar. Looking to they're left, the blonde and his tormentor saw a large Ursa appear from a clearing.

Instantly, Cardin's team ran for it, leaving behind they're leader. Said bully stood idly while the Ursa grew closer, close enough to sniff the sap on Cardin. The Ursa slapped the bully, knocking the boy down and hovering over him.

Realizing that he needed to do something, Jaune stood up, rushing to the Ursa.

* * *

The Ursa's roar rang though the forest, gaining the attention of team's RWBY, JNPR and GRIN. The remainder of Cardin's team reached them, of for one of the to be soon grabbed by Gray. "What happened? Where's Jaune."

"Cardin….U-ursa…Jaune…" Annoyed, Gray tossed to boy aside, Ruby and Nia joining his side.

"What happened?" The silver eyed girl asked.

"Jaune's in danger. Nia, tell Rhys and Iris to get help. Then, come with me." Ruby turned to Yang and Blake and instructed for them to do the same. Lastly, Pyrrha ordered Ren and Nora as well. The six didn't retaliate and did what they were told. The P, RW and GN ran to the roar, ready to save they're friend.

* * *

Soon, the five reached Jaune, only to see him holding out against the Ursa. Ruby ran to help only to be grabbed by Gray. "What are you doing!? We gotta help him before he gets hurt!"

"No." Gray muttered.

"What do you mean no?"

"I mean, I'm not letting you get hurt."

"Gray…"

"No Ruby," Pyrrha interjected. "Watch." The five watch Jaune go toe to toe with the Ursa, managing to wear it down. With a final lunge, the blonde knight sliced the Ursa's head off, the monster's ashes soon flowing with the wind. Whoops and cheers were heard behind the gasping boy, while Pyrrha and Weiss gave a light applaud, the former putting in more effort.

Professor Goodwitch soon arrived along with the remains of JNPR, RWBY and GRIN. Once the boy recovered his breath, Jaune turned and glided towards Cardin, who was shocked at Jaune's display. "Jaune, I-I don't know what-"

"Save it, Cardin. Look, if you ever mess with my friends again…you'll regret it. Understood?"

"Jaun-"

"Understood?" Jaune growled, the new found courage intimated Cardin. The boy hesitantly nodded and Jaune soon turned heel and walked to his friends. Who of which, smiled and congratulated him on his success for standing up for both himself and his friends.

"Nicely done _Jauney Boy_." Gray snickered. Jaune smiled faintly.

"Thanks Gray. But, could you please not call me that? I'm kinda sick and tired of that name."

* * *

Jaune stood on top of the roof, gazing into the city. Suddenly, a familiar voice sung in his ears. "A gorgeous sight, is it not?" Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha…" The blonde turned to stare at the warrior. "I just wanted to apologize for my actions. You were right, I did need a push, but I couldn't get that through my thick head. I'm sorry." The boy ducked his head down, prepared to continue the shunning. A surprising yet, gentle hand made it's way to Jaune's shoulder, making him look up.

"It's fine Jaune."

"Pyrrha, if you're still holding up the offer for, personally training me…I'd really appreciate it." After a minute of thinking, Pyrrha shoved the boy. "Hey! What was that for?!"

"Your form is off. We'll start on that." Pyrrha smiled. The blonde then bent down, the warrior correcting him on his bad form.

* * *

Junior's club had always been a place of trouble. The place was a fine establishment with a awful hidden objective. The man was forced into this kind of business.

Hiding and protecting criminals. One of which was known for his malicious intents and 'helpful'. Roman Torchwick. The man was in the back rooms of the owner's club, of course with his permission. Junior was a great asset and something to be used effectively. The man exhaled, smoke flowing from his mouth.

Roman looked over notes and a route for a shipment of some sort on a large glass table. "So, you four know why I called you. Although, I would've liked it if you were here personally, this will do." Along with the scribbles and routes, there were four tablets, all of which were labeled with a letter.

 _"Well, let's get on with this, we can't continue this forever."_ One tablet spoke. The object was labeled with a _**I**_.

 _"Relax, we'll have enough time."_ Another spoke, however the voice was feminine yet commanding. This one was labeled with _**N**_.

"Alright anyways, you all know that there's a Schnee Dust shipment comin' soon." Roman spoke.

 _"Let me guess…you want us, to help you with capturing it."_ A third female voice filled the room. The small electronic device gave out a soothing voice for _**K**_.

"Yep. After my botched Dust robbery, a certain someone is paranoid about our plan. I'll sent you the time and place for the supposed location of the Dust."

 _"Fine."_ This voice was different, this one being a male voice. _"We'll do it, but nothing better not go wrong._ " The voice was strange. The label for the voice was even more startling.

The label was _**G.**_


	6. The Past Makes An Appearance

Excitement was a rare thing to see when walking or even being in Professor Port's class. However, in the first few minutes of the class, the students were quickly engaged in what Port had planned. The short man had two cages in the class, both of the small prisons were rattling and clashing together.

"Welcome class!" Port bellowed. "Now, I assume that you're all wondering, 'what's in the cages?' Well, all of you will soon find out in due time. Now! To the topic of today!" Multiple students groaned at the cocktease that Port had pulled, but they still followed they're instructions…some more than others…most followed they're instructions.

The two long time best friends were the ones who weren't really paying attention. They weren't alone however, Nia joined they're antics but more 'stealthily'. Ruby and Gray's shenanigans went by unnoticed by Port, but the young leader's partner was forced to sit next to them.

The goofy doodles…the silly jokes…the picking of noses…all of it was starting to tick Weiss off.

However, the heiress couldn't see the adorableness going under they're desk. The raven haired boy would prod Ruby's side, causing her to jump and blush before giggling. After multiple prods and pokes, Ruby decided to defend herself. The brunette laid her left hand to her side, setting her trap.

Gray snickered and glanced to his right before attacking his friend. The leader was ready however, she grabbed Gray hand before the boy's deed was done. Ruby snapped her head in Gray's direction and smirked. However, the boy had more tricks up his sleeve. Quickly, Gray grasped Ruby's hand, making the younger squeak and blush faintly.

The two have done this more than once, and each time it has ended up with Ruby being somewhat flustered.

Realizing that his maneuver worked, the childish boy wiggled his eyebrows before winking. Ruby blushed again and looked away from her friend, however hearing his snickering.

The young leader then noticed that her partner had left. Ruby tapped Nia on the shoulder and the blonde looked up. "Where's Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Well while you two love birds were staring into each other's eyes, Port told us what was in the cages. Now Weiss went to retrieve her gear and fight one." Nia summarized. Ruby nodded and tried to ignore the 'love bird' comment. She also tried to ignore Gray's affectionate hand still holding her own.

Ruby looked at the boy and smiled softly. Suddenly, the door to the classroom opened up to reveal the leader's partner, and she did not look pleased. _'I wonder what's up with her.'_ Ruby thought. Weiss stood at the front of the classroom staring at the two cages. "Are you ready, Miss Schnee?" Weiss quickly nodded. Port nodded and grabbed his blunder buss-axe, before slicing the lock on one of the cages.

A Grimm busted out of the cages and stared menacingly at Weiss. The Grimm was a Boarbatusk charged at Weiss but the girl easily moved out of harm's way before slashing at the monster's back.

Weiss began to think that this should be a easy task however, the Boarbatusk thought differently. The Grimm spun around and quickly rammed Weiss knocking her back. When the heiress recovered she saw the Boarbatusk spin and dash at her. Weiss barely dodged out of the way. "Nice one Weiss!" Her partner cheered.

Weiss attempted to tune out the girl but the heiress was soon knocked down by the Grimm. "Weiss watch out!" Ruby warned. The heiress growled and barely dodged the Grimm's downward smash. Weiss dashed backwards to recover herself and ready her next attack. "Weiss! The belly is it's weakness! It has no armor there!" Weiss shook with anger as she stomped her foot.

"Stop telling me what to **do**!" She snapped. The heiress stared at Ruby as she saw the younger enthusiasm and happiness disappear. She also saw the leader's friend's face change to a angered one.

But right now she couldn't focus on that.

Just as she turned to the Boarbatusk, the beast barely hit her. Unable to slow down, the Boarbatusk slammed into the wall behind Weiss. However, just before the monster crashed, the heiress set two glyphs one on the wall and one behind her. As the Boarbatusk collided with the wall, it was launched in Weiss' direction and Weiss was launched in the Grimm's direction.

The two met halfway and Weiss plunged her rapier in the Boarbatusk's belly, effectively killing it. "Bravo! Bravo Miss Schnee!" Weiss sighed and removed her rapier from the disappearing corpse of the Boarbatusk. As Weiss returned to her desk, Port continued. "Oh! We have time for one more display! Would anyone want to go against a Boarbatusk?" Instantly, a annoyed Gray raised his hand. "Yes! Mr. Gray! Please retrieve your gear." The boy rose and glared at Weiss before exiting the classroom.

The cold heiress glanced at Ruby only to see her stare at where Gray was sitting. She looked upset.

Soon, the black haired boy came back in his combat outfit and his strange scythe. His scythe however wasn't was it was supposed to be. Instead it was a long two handed axe. The boy was holding said axe with one hand. His facial expression was one that was really rare. It was anger.

The emotion was also extremely rare for Ruby, in they're past, Gray's emotions were either complete happiness or extreme worry, the latter was seen the most around her when they were kids.

"Mr. Gray are you ok?" Professor Port asked. Gray nodded and stared evilly at the cage. Ruby wanted to cheer him on, but she was scared that she'd be yelled at again. Gray slid his right foot back on the polished wooden floor below him. He also raised his weapon so it was diagonal, the blade higher than the handle.

Port than cut the lock again and another Boarbatusk broke free from it's prison. The Boarbatusk scanned it's surroundings before meeting the annoyed eyes of Gray. The boar began to spin before dashing at the boy. Gray, then moved his axe so he was holding it mostly behind him, the scythe blade barely hovering above the floor. Just as the beast was close enough Gray lifted and threw his weapon downwards.

A loud crash and satisfying crack was heard, causing students to gasp and stand up from they're seats, even jumping out of they're seats. Looking at what caused the loud noise, students saw Gray holding the middle of his weapon and the blade buried deep in the Boarbatusk's skull. Indeed the boy smashed through the Boarbatusk's skull and face mask, killing the thing instantly. "Amazing! Absolutely astonishing, Mr. Gray! Not only did you kill the beast in one strike, but you also smashed the incredibly strong face mask! Bravo!" Gray yanked the blade from the vanishing corpse.

He then turned his head in Weiss' direction, or perhaps Ruby's, before giving a small grin. There was something off with the smile however. With more interest in the smile Weiss realized that some of his teeth were much sharper than usual. "Well, after that amazing performance class, I believe that's all the time we have. Please read the assigned pages in your textbooks. With that said, you're dismissed!" Port bellowed, signaling the students to leave.

Weiss stormed out and waited for her team, and her partner. Ruby exited and quickly pivoted her foot so she turned back to the classroom, a smile on her face. The heiress stared at the confusing girl and soon saw what she was smiling at. Her old friend stepped out of the room and ruffled Ruby's hair, causing the latter to laugh softly.

Having seeing enough of these two Weiss walked off. Ruby noticed this and sighed, saddened by this. A hand found it's way to her shoulder. "Screw her, Ruby. You don't need her in your life." Gray spat.

"No, you're wrong Gray. She's my partner. I do need her in my life. I just mess up." The leader sighs. "I always do." She then walked away in the opposite direction of where Weiss walked away. They raven haired boy exhaled and rubbed his face.

"You want me to talk with her?" Rhys said as he exited the classroom.

"Ugh, please. I'll talk to Ruby." Rhys smiled and nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Thanks." Rhys quickly chased Weiss down and caught her attention.

"Hey Erbin! Wait a second!"

"Go away Rhys."

"I said wait, Weiss." The heiress sighed and slowly came to a stop. The boy caught up with the heiress. "What happened with your leader, Ruby?" Weiss scoffed as they left the building and walked around the open campus.

"Ugh, her a leader? Please. She hasn't tried in the least, to earn that position. Back in the Emerald Forest, all she did was nearly get me killed. Honestly, I think Ozpin made a mistake of making her leader." An awkward silence loomed over them before Weiss turned to Rhys. "Aren't you gonna say anything?"

"You're extremely wrong."

"What?"

"You're wrong. What, you think complaining and acting like a child will make Ozpin switch your positions with Ruby?" Weiss folded her arms and looked down at the concrete below her. "I had this thought process for a time too. Sure, I didn't take it as bad as you did but still." Rhys sighed.

"Weiss, why dwell on the unfortunate past, when you could be making a better future for yourself. Instead of complaining and pouting like a little girl who thinks she deserves this and that, try to make up for it. Instead of being a good leader, be the best partner, teammate and friend." Weiss sighed and sat down on a bench. Rhys placed a hand on her shoulder before giving it a small grip.

"So, instead think of being that, rather than being a leader." Rhys smiled and proceeded to walk away but Weiss quickly stopped him.

"Rhys! What if I can't be the best partner or friend?"

"Weiss that's impossible. How can _Weiss Schnee_ not be the greatest friend?" Rhys laughed. Weiss smiled softly and glanced back down to her feet, only to look at Rhys again.

"Thanks, Rhys. Really."

"No problem. I'll see you later Erbin."

* * *

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong Gray. It seems no matter how hard I try, she just doesn't care." Ruby sighed. The leader's of RWBY and GRIN were sitting near the edge of the roof. "Sometimes I think you were wrong. Maybe I'm not cut out to be a leader." Instinctively, Gray gripped Ruby's hand.

"Ruby, I'm not wrong. And you are enough to be a leader." Gray's grip on Ruby's hand tightened. "No matter what, never and I mean never, let someone bring you down or let what they say get in between you and what you have. Ruby, you're strong, nice, encouraging, adorable," The girl in question blushed faintly with the last compliment. "those are all fantastic perks for being a leader." The boy then planted his lips softly on Ruby's hand before pulling away and smiling.

"Hey, I have an idea."

"What is it? Is it something bad?" Ruby questioned, keeping her hand within Gray's. The girl wiggled her hand out from Gray's grasp and smiled at the latter.

"No, it's more of a way to show Weiss that you know what to do and be the best leader you could possibly be." Ruby moved closer to Gray and rested her head on his right shoulder.

"Thanks Gray. You're always on my side. You're the best."

"No problem, Little Rose." The boy stretched his arm to Ruby's right shoulder and held her, running a thumb up and down. "I'll always be around to help."

* * *

Night was soon arriving and Gray walked Ruby back to her dorm. It wasn't a hassle, because conveniently team RWBY, JNPR and GRIN were within the same hallway. Ruby spun on her heel and glanced up to look into Gray's void-like eyes. "Seriously Gray, thanks so much. I'll prove to Weiss that I can be the best leader ever!"

"I'm sure you will Ruby."

"Oh! I should get right to it! Goodnight Gray!" Ruby squealed before tackling Gray, causing him to step back. The boy returned the hug and smiled. Ruby then stood up on her toes and gave him a peck on the cheek. The peck caused a strange sensation on Gray's face but he was too surprised to care. "Bye!" She giggled before running inside her dorm. Gray stood there one had touching his cheek. His face reddened slightly before grinning. The boy then walked down the hall to his dorm and unlocked it.

Inside he saw his team, Rhys reading the textbook that Port assigned and Iris laying next to him, listening. Nia was on the other side of the room, laying on her bed and reading a comic book. "Sup, Gray. Where were you?" Red eyes peeled themselves away from the book and planted themselves on her partner.

"Talkin' with Ruby. Oh Rhys, thanks for the help." The boy in question gave a brief nod before returning to his assignment.

"Oooh~! 'Talking'? Really?" Gray sighed and nodded sitting on his bed. The sensation from earlier was still on the boy's cheek as he glanced towards Nia.

"Yeah. That's all."

"Do you like her Gray? You two always look into each other's eyes for a real long time. It's starting to make me a bit jealous." The girl's leader gulped when the question was asked.

"Uh…no. We're just good friends." _'Right?'_ Gray thought.

"Hmm…" Nia hummed before laughing briefly. "If you say so~!" The raven haired boy scoffed and smiled.

"Go to bed Nia."

* * *

The Schnee heiress entered her dorm only to see her team sound asleep.

"ZZZZZ…"

…At least, close to sound asleep thanks to Yang. The white haired girl glanced around the room and saw a faint light on Ruby's bunk. Using her own as leverage, Weiss stood up to see the aftermath of the young leader hard at work. Ruby had apparently kept her word when she spoke at Gray. The girl had textbook after textbook splayed all over her bed. The heiress poked Ruby's side and the girl snapped awake, spouting apologizes and other things.

"Shh!" The young brunette quickly silenced herself and recollected her thoughts.

"Weiss I-"

"Ruby, how do you take your coffee?"

"Umm…"

"How do you take your coffee?" Weiss reiterated.

"Uh, lots of sugar and cream!"

"Don't move." Weiss fell out of the leader's sight before quickly returning, coffee in hand. "Look Ruby, I may have not been the best…partner lately. But for now on, I'll be the best person and friend you'll ever have." The heiress then ducked down once again, after she pointed out that some of Ruby's work was wrong.

"And Ruby?" She whispered near the door to they're dorm. "I always wanted bunk beds." Weiss then closed the door, bringing silence into the room. Ruby smiled and quickly turned on her scroll finding her helpful friend.

 _Ruby: It worked!_

It didn't take long for the boy to answer back, in fact it only took a few seconds.

 _Gray: See? Told you Little Rose. Goodnight cutie ;)_

The last part of the text made Ruby blush slightly before smiling.

 _Ruby: Goodnight Gray._

* * *

"Isn't this just great!?" Weiss shouted, this was one of the rare times she actually started to smile.

"If you say so Schnee." The GR of GRIN said simultaneously. The two teams had decided to go out into the great city of Vale, as students from other kingdoms arrived.

"'If you say so?!' Have you seen everything here? The dancing, the parades, the tournament!"

"That all sounds boring." Yang joked. The heiress glared at her causing her team and the GR to laugh. Weiss had invited Rhys to join her team with they're trip to Vale and the boy had accepted. Of course things didn't go as smooth. Ruby has overheard Weiss and asked her to invite Gray as well. Instantly, the heiress said no and asked why.

* * *

 _"Why do you want him to come with us?" The heiress sighed folding her arms._

 _"Uh, um well…you see…um…he's a good friend and I want him around." Ruby stammered thinking of a believeable reason. The reason was somewhat truthful. "Why do you want Rhys to come along?"_

 _"He's…a nice acquaintance." Weiss said matter-of-factly, looking away from her leader with a small hint of red on her cheeks._

 _"Hmm…" Ruby pondered, getting in Weiss' face._

 _"Get out of the way you dunce! Call your boyfriend and hurry up!" The heiress snapped._

 _"He-he i-i-isn't my b-b-boyfriend!" Ruby squealed, red in the face._

* * *

The leader blushed when she recalled the memory. Looking down she saw the familiar boy's head between her legs, his hands holding her ankles. The boy had picked her up and held her on his shoulders, neither of them stopping each other. The young brunette ruffled Gray's hair and the action was quickly responded with a gentle squeeze of her ankle.

"Weiss, why are we out here?" Gray asked.

"Well, we're here to-"

"We're here to spy on the newly arriving students." Blake answered for her. Weiss scoffed and walked ahead.

"Honestly, I figured that, Blake." Rhys smiled. After a few minutes of walking, the GRRWBY crew saw a closed Dust shop with police at the entrance. Gray walked over with Ruby above him and saw the yellow tape and shattered glass.

"Excuse me, what happened?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, the place was robbed."

"But no money was taken. Just Dust. You think White Fang did it?" The two police officers conversed as the group walked away.

"Why am I not surprised that the White Fang are behind this! Bunch of disgusting thieves if you ask me." Weiss muttered to herself, however the B in RWBY had overheard her but held her tongue.

"That was awful. Who would need that much Dust?" Yang asked. Suddenly, there was yells of annoyance near the docks. Jogging towards the docks, WBYR saw a blonde boy run out of a cargo ship and run to a light post. The boy was apparently a Faunus, because the blonde boy hooked a monkey tail around the light post as he hung upside down and peeled a banana. The officers from earlier ran to the boy and tried get him down.

"And this proves my point on how the White Fang are nothing but brutes."

"How do you know that he's White Fang? Just because he's a Faunus?" Blake countered only to get nothing for a response.

The boy then threw the peel at the officer before sprinting away. The Faunus boy ran up the steps leading up to the WBYR group and winked at Blake. He then sprinted away, losing the cops easily. "Well Weiss, there's the competition." Yang smiled.

"We need to follow him! Let's go Rhys!" Weiss pointed in the boy's direction and the group ran after the Faunus. Meanwhile, the two leaders watch the others run after the blonde Faunus.

"You wanna chase after them?" Gray asked, turning slightly to see Ruby.

"Um, sure but walk slowly, this is somehow very comfortable." Ruby huffed rubbing the top of Gray's head. The boy walked her over to they're group to see Weiss on top of a girl. "What?" Ruby questioned scratching her head.

"Honestly Ruby, I have no idea." Blake sighed.

" **Sal** - _u-_ tations!" The girl underneath Weiss shouted. Weiss scrambled off of the girl and she quickly jumped up.

"Hello." Rhys smiled.

"Sal-u-tations!" She repeats.

"Uh…hello." Weiss said slightly weirded out by the orange haired girl.

"My names Penny, what's yours?" Penny asked Rhys.

"Rhys. That girl that fell over you is Weiss, she's Blake, Yang and those two are Gray and Ruby." Rhys introduced everyone, pointing to each person before hiding his hands in his coat.

" **Sal** - _u_ -tations!' Penny repeated for the third time.

"You said that already. Twice in fact." Weiss mumbled.

"So I did."

"Well, it was nice meeting you, buuuttt we have to go." Yang then pushed Weiss and Blake away from the strange orange haired girl.

"Bye friend!" Ruby smiled. The group walked away from the girl, whispering to each other on how off she was.

"What did you say?" Penny appeared around the corner, scaring the group of friends, more than others.

"Uh…me?"

"No, not you! You! What did you call me?" Penny pointed to Ruby, however she had to look up to her, due to the young leader being on Gray's shoulders.

"Uh…um…" She looked around to see her team shaking her heads and Rhys shrugging. The brunette then looked down at Gray who smiled who gave a brief thumbs up before moving it back to Ruby's leg. "…F-friend?"

"I'm your friend?" Ruby nodded and Penny squealed. "Oh my goodness! We could be best friends! Shopping, painting each other's nails oh we coul-"

"I'd hate to cut you off but do you know where that blonde rapscallion go? You know? A menace to society?"

"Why do you say that? He's not even apart of the White Fang!" Blake shouted, causing an argument to start up between her and the heiress.

"Is it me or is Weiss a racist?" Gray whispered to Ruby.

"I think so, Gray. Hopefully this all blows over."

* * *

After reaching Beacon, Rhys and Gray left the others to deal with they're own 'annoyances'. Meanwhile, Team RWBY's WB were still arguing and the heated discussion was turning into something bad. "Why are you defending them? They're maniacs!" Weiss yelled across the room glaring at Blake.

"Because humanity forced they're hand! Why do you hate them so much?" Ruby and Yang shared the same worried expression for their partners.

"Because they killed so many and don't care! The White Fang are nothing but a bunch of murderous psychopathic careless thieves!"

"Well maybe _we're_ tired of being pushed around!" Blake gasped and covered her mouth.

"Blake, what do you mean we-" Immediately the girl ran out of the room, ignoring her teams pleas. Blake ran from her friends and away from Beacon. Upon reaching Vale the girl hid in a alley, sliding down on a wall. She then clutched her bow before tugging on it.

The bow became undone revealing small cat like ears. Blake ducked her head and sighing when she felt rain on her head. "I always new you were a Faunus." A voice spoke up. Looking up, Blake saw the Faunus boy from earlier. "Hey, let's get you out of the rain." The boy offered a hand to Blake. The girl stared at the gesture boy glancing at the boy again. He had a smile on his face. So, deciding that this was the best the cat Faunus took the boy's hand.


	7. The Great Scav-estagation Hunt

_A few days later…_

"…So, that's what happened." Ruby sighed as she sat down on her partner's bed. Ruby had called over team GRIN pretty early in the morning to explain what had happened between Weiss and Blake. All and all the smiling team was shocked that the two argued which lead to finding out that Blake wasn't who she said she was.

The teams leader pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed once again. Why didn't Blake tell us? They're a team! Maybe Blake just doesn't seem to care. Ruby's train of thought was derailed by a familiar hand resting on her shoulder. Looking to the left the brunette saw the appendage and glanced to her right to see her good friend. "Ugh, what are we gonna do?"

"Well, Little Rose, I think it's best for us to go looking for her." Gray smiled.

"Agreed, we need to look for Blake so Weiss could apologize." Rhys nodded.

"What?! I am not apologizing for something that I-" The heiress glanced at Rhys' cold eyes and shivered. Afterward, Weiss huffed and folded her arms. "Fine, I'll apologize. But it won't be a nice one!" Rhys smiled at the heiress who looked away from him.

"Thank you, Weiss." The heiress scoffed.

"Please, I'm not doing this for you. I'm only apologizing so we can get Blake back." Rhys smiled wider.

"So we're going on a scavenger hunt?!" Iris shouted energetically.

"I say it's an investigation." Nia spoke. Suddenly, the two gasped.

"It's a scav-estigation hunt!" The two girls screamed simultaneously. Ruby chuckled softly, still nervous for Blake's wellbeing. A reassuring one arm hug caused her to stare at Gray again.

"Don't worry Ruby, we'll find her. I promise you." The boy promised.

"Thanks, Gray." The young leader said, staring into the black orbs that were Gray's eyes. The two tuned out the others in the room and just stared at each other, scanning each other's face for every detail. Meanwhile, the IN of GRIN made kissing noises while the two in question didn't notice.

 _"Oh Gray~ your sooo cute~!"_ Nia snickered.

 _"Oh Ruby~ you're absolutely adorable!" I_ ris said in a deep voice. Yang began to laugh hysterically while Rhys and Weiss held they're laughter. _"Do you wanna go on a date with me?"_ Nia gasped dramatically before mimicking Ruby's laughter.

 _"I'd love to!"_ The comedians than made more kissing noises. Having enough fun, Yang snapped her fingers in between the two 'love birds', breaking they're shared trance.

"Huh? What happened?" Ruby asked, the only response being Yang's laughter.

"No seriously, what happened?"

 _An hour later…_

The two teams arrived at Vale and quickly looked around. "Alright, we'll split up. Rhys and Weiss, Iris, Nia, and Yang. And Ruby with me. Ok?" The leader of team GRIN asked. Nia, Iris, and Yang nodded before yet again, making smooching sounds.

"Huh?" The clueless leaders scratched their heads before beginning they're search.

* * *

"So, why were you in Vale? Aren't you a huntress in training?" A voice broke Blake out of her trance. Peeling her eyes from her cup of tea, the Faunus girl peered at a familiar face. Sun Wukong. The monkey Faunus from yesterday. After Blake left Beacon the boy found her and took care of her. Then, strangely he thought it was best for them to go to a café. The Faunus girl nodded to answer hid question and quickly spoke up.

"I had to leave. Due to a certain, incident." Weiss and her problem with the White Fang. Speaking of the White Fang… "Sun, what do you think about the White Fang?" The boy took a sip of his tea, or coffee whatever it was before saying,

"Well, I think they're a bunch of crazy psychos."

"I was one of them." Sun spat out his drink and coughed.

"Y-you were?" Again, Blake nodded before quickly explaining that she was a member back when they were peaceful and did protests. "But then a new leader came in and made us more…violent." The two soon left the small café and walked down the streets of Vale, trying to figure out the White Fang's next move. "So, the White Fang have been robbing Dust shops, only taking Dust. So, what is their next spot?"

"Maybe at the docks!" Sun chirped, hands wrapped around the back of his head.

"Hm?"

"When I was on that ship, the dudes there week talking about a shipment of Schnee Dust arriving, actually tonight. By shipment I mean, crates full of 'em." Blake thought about it but quickly dismissed the idea.

"No…that would be too obvious."

"But, since it's so obvious people wouldn't expect them to do something so obvious! Right?" Sun hinged. After minutes of thinking, Blake somewhat agreed to Sun's hint and they made they're way to the docks, where the two first meet.

* * *

"You, see her?" Gray pondered while straining his neck to look up.

"Uh…no. No, I don't." Ruby sighed. The two had devised a plan to find Blake by using height. So why not use they're combined height to find her. With Ruby on Gray's shoulders, they were sure to find her.

At least that's what they thought.

"Jeez, how hard is it to find a girl wearing all black and a cute bow?" The boy complained.

"Apparently really hard. Wait, cute bow?" _'No he didn't! It's my job to be the adorable leader of the group!'_ The young girl shouted in her mind. Yes indeed, she had broken their group of friends into roles, and she was the 'adorable leader'. As for the others, she had no clue.

"Relax, cutie." Her friend snickered. "Ugh, we'll never find her in this god-forsaken city."

"Find who?" A voice asked. The leader duo turned around to see Penny.

"Penny!" Ruby smiled.

"Hey, Penny." Gray echoed.

"Hello, Ruby and Gray. Who are you looking for? Did someone disappear?" The girl questioned. The leaders glanced at each other before returning their sight onto Penny.

"Um, well…" Ruby started, staring down at Penny. "…Blake ran away and we're trying to find her." Gray finished for her.

"Thanks."

"No problem." The boy smiled.

"That's awful!" Cried, Penny. "Oh, we have to find her!" Penny grabbed Gray's wrist like a vice before dragging the two of them, nearly causing Ruby to fall off Gray's shoulders.

* * *

"So, what caused your fight with Blake?" Rhys asked the heiress.

"I don't want to talk about it." Weiss folded her arms and huffed. Rhys nodded and the two stayed in silence. For one the lack of conversation was torture to her. While the other was comfortable. Guilt was slowly killing Weiss and it annoyed her to no end. It wasn't really right to blame all Faunus for what the White Fang did. "…" The two continued to wander the streets while Weiss squirmed. She felt like Rhys' eyes were staring at her, judging her, like they were angry at her for what she did. "I said something about the White Fang and she countered my statement." Weiss began.

"…" Rhys was silent, not wanting to interrupt her.

"I then talked about how I thought that all Faunus were basically the same, and Blake grew annoyed with me. We argued and argued, but you know that already. You were there. But when we got back to our dorm, things got violent." Weiss stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "I told her exactly how our childhood was. Then, she admitted to being associated with the White Fang." After a minute of waiting, Rhys spoke up.

"Do you think all Faunus are bad? And think about this Weiss."

"…" The girl didn't have an answer. A hand found it's way to the heiress' back.

"Just think about it while we search for her. Ok?" Hesitantly, Weiss nodded as they continued to look for Blake.

* * *

 _Hours later…_

The wait for the White Fang was becoming more and more of a waste of time. Blake sat in the same position for hours, long enough for the sun to set and the moon to rise. Suddenly Sun appeared, holding apples close to his chest. "Want some food? I stole it." Blake glared at him with annoyance.

"Do you steal everything?" Sun shrugged as he bit an apple. However, the apple along with its brothers and sisters flew out of his hands as a strong wind blew them away. Finding the source of the strong wind, Blake discovered multiple Bullheads overhead. The aircraft's landed and soon enough, men and women poured out of the ships. The insignia on they're back told Blake who they were.

White Fang.

A voice pierced the engine filled air. The voice belonged to the infamous Roman Torchwick. "Let's hurry this up, please? I'm sorry but, we aren't the most discreet group of psychos at the moment. You four! Help them would you?" A man exited the Bullhead wearing the familiar pure white mask.

One of the men was quite large. He stood at a 6'9 and was very burly. He wore a tight bright red muscle shirt and cargo pants, as well as boots. Scratches and cuts covered his arms, as well as a chain. The man's weapon was an odd one. It rested on his shoulder, the weapon being a large greatsword.

Another person left the ship, this one being a woman. She was also tall, around six foot. Her feminine perks were well hidden. She was wearing almost the exact same outfit that the man was wearing but, instead of cargo pants, she wore normal jeans. Her weapon was normal, a standard katana.

A third person left the hovercraft, another female. Instantly, Blake noticed a difference between the two females, mostly by they're bodies and clothing. The woman's whole outfit was in one. A skintight body suit. The wrists and ankles seemed to be bigger than normal. Bulkier.

Lastly, the final person exited the Bullhead, a man. He was around the first man's height and wore jeans, sneakers and a simple dark yellow shirt. He seemed basic, but his weapon was odd. He held the object like a sword, however, the weapon was a long, golden colored spear with a large, wide and sharp tip. Occasionally, the blade would have electricity or lightning run along it before stopping at the handle.

"We'll handle it. You just sit there and do nothing." The body suit woman smiled. Having seen enough of this, Blake jumped down into the harbor. Sneaking and slipping in between crates, the Faunus found Roman barking orders at a White Fang member. Springing into action, Blake readied her blade before being kicked in the side. A foot was placed on her back as she growled. "Where do you think you're going?" The woman from earlier asked. Suddenly, an explosion went off near one of the Dust crates, activating the contents inside and causing that to detonate.

"Sun?!" Blake yelled. The boy in question soared through the air before kicking the woman off of Blake.

"You ok?" He asked as he helped Blake to her feet.

"Yeah, thanks." The skintight suit wearing woman recovered and smiled.

"I'll need some help I. We have some unwanted guests."

 _'I'm on my way K.'_

The woman, now known as K, readied herself by getting into a fighting position.

"She doesn't even have a-" The woman cut Sun off by flicking her wrists downwards, causing two thick black wires to slip out of them. "…weapon."

* * *

The leaders and Penny search high and low for Ruby's missing team member. The three of them were about to give up. That was until they heard a large explosion. Turning around, Ruby saw smoke coming from the docks. "Gray…"

"I see it. Let's go guys." The three ran through the streets of Vale, wondering if that was Blake's doing.

"Do you think that is Blake?" Penny asked.

"We sure hope so." Ruby and Gray mumbled. After sprinting to the docks. The trio saw Blake and that blonde Faunus… and a ton of White Fang running to them. Ruby glanced at Gray and the two nodded. They grabbed their weapons and activated them, the weapons becoming scythes. Gray and Ruby ran towards K, but a rocket stopped them.

"If it isn't Little Red! And her friend I'm guessing." Roman laughed.

"Go help Blake, Ruby I'll handle him." Gray growled. Ruby hesitated before nodding.

"Stay safe please, Gray." She then ran off.

"So, your name's Gray huh?" Roman never received a response. Instead Gray dashed at the man before pulling the top trigger on his weapon, collapsing the blade and making it in an axe. Gray swung the blade horizontally across his body expecting to hit the criminal. However, a loud ear busting clang said otherwise. Looking up, Gray saw a man with a large greatsword slide back from the power of his attack.

The man then pulled out his blade from the ground before slinging it over his shoulder. A woman then ran to his side holding the sheath and handle of her katana. "Is this the trouble that K said?"

"No, I believe this is the 'troubles' backup."

"Interesting. Let's take care of him." The woman then pulled out her katana.

However, there was no blade.

Only the handle was shown to Gray, confusing the boy. Snapping out of his confusion. Gray then charged at the two, however, the man moved out of the way and left Gray's path towards the woman. She clutched her handle before slashing upwards. Gray fell back when he felt a blade hit him.

Stunned, the boy looked up at the woman towering over him. Within the moonlight, Gray could barely see a transparent blade of a katana. _'It's invisible?'_ The thought had to be answered later, as the scythe wielder heard a groan. Rolling out of the way, Gray barely dodged a large greatsword smashing into the floor. He used his momentum to scramble up before dashing towards the woman.

Once again, she calmly waited for the right moment, as Gray sliced through the air, she smoothly maneuvered out of the way before countering with a slick slash across Gray back. The boy's stance faltered as Gray fell to his knees. A blade smashed into his back and Gray slid into one of the many shipments of Dust. Coughing, Gray recovered slowly and turned around, while barely dodging a fast stab of the greatsword.

Again, Gray moved out of the way just in time as well. A second later and his head would've been gone. The greatsword wielding man heaved for air as he returned to the woman's side. The two walked forward as Gray stepped away from them, recovering his breath.

K lashed at Blake, her thick whip smacking the girl and sending her backward. As she walked towards the Faunus, a bullet slammed into her. Turning to her left, K met the eyes of Ruby. Ruby held her scythe close, slightly intimated by the woman in front of her. K threw a punch, the action causing a whip to move to Ruby, The woman then pulled back and whipped Ruby across the face.

The young leader yelped before dashing towards K, slashing and using her sniper to back away from her kicks and whips. Ruby flipped through the air before slamming her scythe into the ground. K expected this and stepped backward. However, she didn't expect a bullet to exit the weapon.

K fell backward and soon stood up dusting herself off. "Impressive. Not only are you a scythe wielder but a good one at that. Oh, well. Too bad I have to put a stop to that." K then sprinted towards Ruby, the younger opening fire. K slid and moved out of the paths of the bullets easily and elegantly before throwing a fist towards the sky. Ruby watched the 'whip' fly through the night sky and connect itself to a beam of a nearby crane. K pulled herself towards the beam before disconnecting her anchor. The woman then spun in the air using the whip-grappling hook as the former, whipping Ruby once again.

The younger slid back to the feet of Penny, who knelt down to assist the leader. "Ruby! Are you ok?"

"Yep." She groaned. "Just fine. Get back, it's not safe." Penny shook her head before walking in front of both Ruby and K. "Penny?"

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!" Penny's back then opened up revealing several swords. Penny the aimed them at K before firing. The older woman dodged most of them before meeting the edge of three knocking her back. More were sent to the woman, flying through the air at insane speeds. K rolled right and grappled two swords with her right and left. She then angled the swords back at Penny who used her others to block the attack.

White Fang ran to assist K but, Penny soon sprung into action, she moved out of the way of K's swords and attack the men and woman. Kicking one into another, Penny rolled just before a White Fang goon attacked her that same goon was impaled by K on accident. Penny countered and attacked perfectly, never receiving harm, she used the White Fang's attacks along with K's to her advantage. The sight was incredible.

As Ruby watched in awe, she turned to find her teammate, who was dueling with Roman and was walking backward. A loud clang made the leader snap to her good friend, who was struggling with the mysterious man and woman. Both Gray and Blake were about to meet each other and Ruby needed to do something. Ruby dashed into Roman tackling him before stepping back.

Blake felt something hit her back, and she turned around to meet Gray's eyes. The Faunus also saw her opponents and nodded to him. She leaped into the air while Gray slid under her. The boy pulled both his triggers and swiped at Roman, who stepped back but met the bullet of Ruby's sniperscythe.

Meanwhile, Blake used her ribbon to tie it to the wrist of the brutish man, she then slid underneath a swipe from the woman. Tugging the ribbon, Blake caused the man to crash into the woman, while also undoing the knot on his arm. The man struggled to recover while the woman sprang up, only to meet two kicks from the raven-haired Faunus.

With Ruby and Gray, the duo pushed Roman back and quickly took out any of Roman's backup. Whoever, due to both of they're duels with the mysterious men and women, Ruby and Gray were close to breaking their Aura. Roman took this into thought.

The man ceased his defensive strategy and moved to offense. He countered and parried their attacks slowly lowering they're Aura's. Finally, the criminal broke Ruby's Aura and smiled. "Now, it's even!" Ruby dashed forward, not thinking, just to Roman's liking. The man blocked her attacks before moving a finger to the trigger on his cane.

Gray saw this and immediately dropped his weapon. "Ruby! Watch out!" Gray shoved the younger out of the way, just before Roman fired. The rocket collided with Gray but he shrugged it off, however, his Aura was destroyed in the process. His jacket was also destroyed. Gray lunged forward with a punch ready. However, like Ruby, he fell into Roman's trap. The man retrieved a small switchblade from his jacket and blocked Gray's punch. Roman then flipped the blade and stabbed Gray in his eye. The boy yelled and pain and stepped back, cradling the bloodied area where the eye was. Roman then grabbed his cane again and fired, knocking Gray back.

Smoke followed Gray's body as he slammed into a crate. Ruby watched in horror before screaming. Using her semblance, Ruby sped to Gray's side and saw the aftermath.

Gray's shirt and jacket were singed and burned, holes and ash filling the clothing. Blood and ash covered Gray's face and blood poured out of Gray's eye. He seemed unconscious. His breathing was so scarce it looked like he wasn't breathing at all. "Oh god! G-Gray! Hey! Say something! Gray, please say something!" Ruby's worst imagination was slowly becoming reality. _'No he can't be…he's-he's not responding… why isn't he responding!'_ "Gray say something!" Tears stung her eyes and she clung to Gray's shirt. _'No…'_ The cold barrel of Roman's cane planted itself on Ruby's head.

"Don't worry little Red! You'll join him soon." Roman smirked. Ruby ignored him as she sobbed on Gray's chest. Just as Roman pulled the trigger, something moved and blocked the barrel. Ruby's eyes widened as she fell to the floor. Glancing at Roman, Ruby saw who saved her life.

Gray?

The boy clenched the barrel tightly before ripping it out of Roman's hands. The criminal threw a fist but Gray gripped his hand tightly before pulling Roman to him. The boy grabbed Roman by the throat before throwing him to the ground. Ruby winced when impact rang in her ears. She didn't notice until now but, Gray looked different.

The sleeves of his arms were burned off, due to that his arms had hair over them, along with his face. Also, Gray's teeth looked much sharper than normal. Lastly, his eye looked like they were filled with anger. "G-gray?" The boy in question snapped to look at her, instantly his eye seemed to be much calmer.

"Ruby!" He then embraced the girl. "I'm so glad you're ok. **Don't Worry**." His voice grew deeper, more intimidating. " **I'll Handle Him**." Gray placed Ruby on the floor again. He then turned to where Roman was but noticed that he was making a break for it. Blake was chasing the mysterious pair while K assisted with Roman's escape.

The escape wasn't east for the White Fang though. Penny pulled most of the Bullheads down and worked on finishing off the others. Gray sprinted after Roman, before leaping towards him and dragging his hand into the ground. The ground cracked and Gray stopped in front of Roman. The boy moved to attack the red-haired criminal but someone tackled into him, allowing Roman to flee. With what little they had left, Roman and the White Fang left.

Gray huffed and gasped for air, staring at the departing Bullheads. "Gray?" Ruby called as she slowly walked towards her injured friend. The way he was now… reminded her of their past… and an awful memory. One that the girl tried to forget. "Are you there?" The young leader stood next to him, hearing his heavy breathing. The inhales and exhales of the boy seemed, nonhuman, almost like an animal. "Gray you're scaring me. Please say something." The boy's head twitched when Ruby said 'you're scaring me.'

" **Safe** _ **.**_ **You** **'** re safe…" The boy growled. He then collapsed, unconscious. Ruby barely caught him in time and lead him to the floor.

"Gray! Oh, my god! BLAKE! CALL FOR HELP!" Ruby screamed. Blake nodded and used her scroll to contact the police and paramedics. "Don't worry, help's coming. Just hang in Gray, please!" Ruby held Gray close to her as she tried to wake him up.

Soon, paramedics arrived, as well as the rest of RWBY and GRIN. The RIN of GRIN saw Ruby clutching Gray while sobbing, along with paramedics rushing to them.

"Oh god." Nia and Iris whispered before running to they're friend and leader. "What happened? What happened to him!?" Nia yelled as the paramedics moved him to the back of they're truck. Since he was a student, they were instructed to move him to the Medical Ward of Beacon. "Tell me Ruby!" She yelled as she gripped the leader. Ruby, covered in blood, stammered and stuttered.

"He-I…he…"

"Spit it out!"

"Nia, relax." Iris said rubbing the girl's back. The blonde sighed and placed Ruby down.

"He saved me. R-roman he was-he was going to kill me but he saved me." Ruby lowered her head. The GRIN girls sighed and hugged Ruby, comforting her.

"Come on Ruby. We should go to Beacon and see Gray." Nia said. The leader nodded and the remains of RWBY and GRIN walked to see they're unconscious friend.

* * *

 _Two days later…_

After the attack from the White Fang, Weiss had apologized to Blake, and vise versa. The police dealt with the White Fang that was left behind. RWBY was healed and the White Fang wouldn't try to steal anything again for a while.

All that was left was Gray. The boy was still in the hospital section of Beacon, recovering from his attack… and surgery.

"I'll see you later, Yang! I'm gonna visit Gray!" Ruby said.

"Ok, make sure you to don't do anything you're not supposed to~!" Yang chirped.

"Yang! It not like that!" Ruby blushed. The leader then closed the door and made way to Gray's room. The girl checked in and stated what she was there for and the lady at the front desk showed her to Gray's room. "Oh, that's not needed. I know where he is." Indeed, the girl knew exactly where her friend's room was. Ruby had visited the place quite often, actually every single day. The front desk gave Ruby a card and the girl thanked her.

After a minute of walking around and saying hello to the doctors and nurses, Ruby reached Gray's room. Swiping the card, the door unlocked and she quietly opened the door. The room was silent, and this confused the little leader. Looking around, the brunette saw the same cheesy 'get well soon' balloons in the corner, thanks to Nia and Iris. 'Those two…' Nia was furious with Ruby when Gray was injured. 'She's just really close with him.' When Ruby first saw the two she swore that they were dating. Surprisingly, that wasn't the case.

Finally, Ruby turned her head to the person that she was here for. Gray. The boy was calmly sleeping an arm draped over his chest as it rose and fell. He softly snored and would occasionally roll over, only to return to his original position. Ruby smiled and sat on a chair that was close to the bed. She leaned forward and watched him.

The boy had to be rushed to the emergency room before going through surgery. After being sent to the emergency room, a day passed before the surgery took place. This was the aftermath. Gray's eye was removed and had to be covered. The sealed eye was covered with a standard issue eye patch. It looked uncomfortable.

That wasn't the only injury, however, the rockets had surely broken his ribs, while he also received burns. Nothing to fatal, luckily.

Ruby couldn't lie and say that Gray wasn't handsome. He was a looker of sorts. Nia and Iris would joke and pretend to act like they were dating him, just to see other girl's reactions. And it always ended in hilarity for them.

Gray's face had a severe lack of blemishes, actually, it was clear of almost all damage. However, the newly acquired scar on his face said otherwise. The boy rolled so he was facing Ruby and he hugged one of the two pillows that were on the bed. He nuzzled his head into it and sighed. Ruby giggled but quickly slapped her mouth.

Gray groaned and slowly fluttered his eye. "Mm?" He then noticed Ruby's presence. "Oh. Hey, Ruby." He smiled. However, his voice and smile were both muffled and hidden due to the pillow covering his lips.

"Hey, Gray. Sorry to wake you. I'll leave if you want me to."

"Don't, please." He mumbled. Ruby stopped at the door and blushed before returning to her seat. "Come on, sit closer. I don't bite~" Gray seemed a bit… off. His voice was odd.

"Uh… ok." She murmured before sitting on the bed, only after Gray moved so she had room. Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her to the bed. Ruby yelped and squirmed briefly before noticing what's going on. Ruby was lying next to Gray, his arms wrapped around. "I-I thought you said you don't bite."

"I didn't say anything about hugging and snuggling with you~" His voice lowered and Ruby bit her lip.

"Are you ok? You seem-"

"Out of it?" Gray cut her off. "Yeah, I think the anesthetics are still in me. Oh well."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes some sense."

"What do you mean?" Gray asked as he removed one of his arms to grab Ruby's hand.

"Um… you're really… uh, forward." She stated grabbing Gray's hand. He chuckled."

"Well, they say that with these drugs, you get more honest." Ruby giggled and agreed.

"I can tell." The two stayed like that, Gray keeping the girl close and holding each other's hand. The two blushed and looked away from each other. That was until Gray looked at Ruby again.

His friend was a beauty to him. Utter perfection. Her natural pale skin and silver eyes were nothing but adorable. Everything about Ruby was amazing. Great fighter, friend, and leader.

Gray lightly pushed Ruby so her head was facing his. His breathing hitched. Gray's heart pounded one million miles an hour. A single black eye stared at silver ones, mesmerized. "Ruby… I…" Gray fumbled. However, he was soon silenced with an abrupt kiss. The small act of affection was filled with nervousness and fear, it started off with force but it all died after the first few seconds.

Gray's eye was open with shock. When he tried to ease into it, Ruby pulled away and panicked, get out of the bed. "I'm sorry!" She repeated _. 'Why would you do that?! You're so dumb! He didn't even react! He doesn't like you, why'd you bother kissing him before?!'_ Ruby's brain screamed as she ran to the door. Embarrassment filled her mind. She'll never be able to look at Gray the same, he'll hate her, they won't be friends, her only real rock in Beacon will be taken from her.

"Wait, Ruby…" Gray gasped as he tried to rise from his bed, only to feel pain rock his body. "Ah!" He yelled, clutching his side.

"Gray, sit down what are you doing?!" Ruby shouted, mixed emotions flowing through her. Tears were barely breaking through her defenses.

"Why were you leaving?" This confused the girl.

"You-you didn't kiss me back, and-and you don't like me… you-you hate me for kissing you and I thought it-it was best to leave-" Ruby stammering and ramblings soon fell to a relaxing silence. It was now Ruby's turn to have wide eyes. Those same eyes turned watery before she eased into it. However, Gray pulled away, smirking. He left the fifteen-year-old frozen, eyes closed and lips in the same position as she kissed him.

"You have to wait for the person to react, first Little Rose. Also, that was for not allowing me to enjoy your first kiss."

"How do you know it was my first time?" Ruby asked folding her arms. Gray chuckled and held the side of her face.

"You kiss like an amateur." Gray whispered in her before kissing her on the cheek. Ruby pouted and folded her arms.

"Wait, so does this makes us…um…" Ruby started but failed to finish her sentence.

"Yes, Ruby. We're dating. At least in my eyes…eye." Ruby giggled and sat down on the bed again.

"That's the only thing that matters." The girl the recalled Gray saying she was an amateur. "Hmm…well Gray, if I'm an 'amateur'…" She leaned close to him. "I want you to teach me." The boy stifled a laugh.

"You're wish is my command, Ruby. Also, seduction is not for you." He grinned.

"Shut up and just kiss me you jerk." Ruby giggled. The two stayed there both happy and relieved.

" _'Ruby you're so cute~!'_ "

" _'And you're so hot~!'_ "


	8. Operation: Mumbo Jumbo

Gray and Ruby's little kissing session had spread throughout the group of friends like wildfire, the three teams conversed about it behind the new couples back. Who were the two that found out?

Why none other than Nia May and Iris Hunt.

The two knew what Gray would do to them if he and Ruby found out but...this was to hilarious to pass up! Speaking of they're injured leader, the boy had been in Beacon's Infirmary for about two days, recovering from his injuries and newly removed eye. Gray had just finished a eyesight test and patiently waited for the results, with Ruby right beside him. The boy unconsciously used his Aura to recover at a faster pace than most people, a dangerous but effective way to recover. Most Hunters would use they're Aura to recover in missions or in battle. "So, expect me to get out soon?" Gray asked, lying in his uncomfortable hospital bed. Ruby shrugged.

"I don't really know. I hope you get out soon. This place gives me the heebie-jibbies."

"Eh, you get use to it after you get your eye removed here."

"Yeah about that, are you like um, ok with having one eye?" Now was the time for the boy to shrug.

"I guess. My eyesight doesn't feel any worse, besides the fact on how I lost depth perception. I mean, you still look cute." He smirked, causing the little leader's cheeks to flush in a small amount of embarrassment.

"Stop it."

"Hey, it's true!" Suddenly, the door to Gray's room opened and revealed one of the many doctors and nurses within the infirmary. "Oh, hey doctor? So, how am I? Am I good to leave?" The doctor was the average height of a man with small, thick glasses and a small beard.

"Um, well Mr. Gray, your eyesight didn't seem to deteriorate like it should have. Instead your eyesight increased."

"Any reason why?" The boy tilted his head in small confusion.

"Not that we know of. We'll just say that you're lucky. Now, I know that you're anxious on leaving. And with the fact that you've been healing much faster than expected, I think it's safe to say that you're cleared to leave."

"WOOHOO!" Gray yelled throwing his arms into the air. The doctor chuckled at Gray's excitement while, adjusting his glasses. Abruptly, the door to Gray's room opened with a nurse.

"Hmm? Oh, well then." The doctor then turned his attention to Gray. "It seems that Headmaster Ozpin wants to see you two. Whenever, you're ready to leave, just let me know."

"Hmm?" Gray and Ruby looked at each other confused before glancing at the doctor. "Welp! I'm ready!" Gray smiled.

"I thought you'd say that. Well, make sure that you don't come back here again."

"You got it doc." With that the doctor left and Gray sprang out of his bed. "Finally!" The boy stretched.

"I wonder what Ozpin wants." Ruby pondered before joining Gray with leaving the infirmary.

"Yeah. Maybe it's something to do with the whole docks thing." Ruby hummed in approval before reaching for her scroll. "What are ya doin'?"

"Texting the others. Oh! My team and you're team are there too."

"Well, let's go then. Can't keep Oz waiting." The boy yawns, walking ahead.

"Yeah, hey wait for me!" Ruby calls.

* * *

The two leaders soon arrived at the entrance to the elevator to Ozpin's office and slowly entered. Silence washed over the two as the elevator quickly skyrocketed to Ozpin's office. Finally, a quiet 'ding' signified that the leader couple had reached they're destination. The elevator doors opened up to reveal they're headmaster's large office.

The ceiling was a constant clockwork, ticks and tocks were in the background. Six students stood in front of Ozpin's desk, not sitting in the two seats in front of said desk. The six were none other than the rest of team RWBY and GRIN. "Hey, guys!" Nia smiled, however her voice was kind of nervous.

"Hello Gray, Miss Rose. Please take a seat. You're teams were very, anxious to see you." Ozpin spoke up, gesturing to the seats that the teams moved away from. Ruby sat in the left seat, her team behind her and the same with Gray.

"Why's did you call us Headmaster?" Ruby asked politely.

"You are all familiar with you're shenanigans at the Vale docks, correct?" Hesitantly, the group of friends nodded. "What were all of you doing there? Why was the White Fang there?" The man began his small interrogation. Everyone glanced at each other than to Blake.

They couldn't tell Ozpin about Blake's previous cooperation with the White Fang but, they needed to tell him.

"Well..." Ruby mumbled. "Weiss, um received a message that a shipment of Schnee Dust was coming in. With the Dust robberies going on we figured that we'd make sure that this shipment doesn't get-get robbed. I'm sure you know what happened next." Ozpin hummed and rested his arms on his desk.

"So, basically what you've just told me is this, the eight of you were walking through Vale and Miss Schnee here received a message about a shipment coming in from her family's business. And all of you took it upon yourselves to make sure that it wasn't harmed. Am I correct?" The kids all nodded, going along with Ruby's false truth. "Hmm, well while that was brave of all of you, you should of left this to professionals. Now, you're friend and leader has lost an eye." Ruby and Blake lowered they're heads.

"Speaking of the um, White Fang, Ruby, Blake and I saw four individuals that were 'different' from the others." Ozpin glanced at Gray confused.

"Please explain."

"Uh," Blake interjected. "They seemed more how you say, 'advanced' than the other White Fang members that were around." Blake lowered her head and pondered before continuing. "They had like, code names for each other. And each code name was a letter."

"Tell me. What were these, code names?"

"They were um, they were K, N, I and G." Ruby listed off.

"Hmm...K, N, I and G..." Ozpin pondered. Suddenly, Rhys gasped, gaining Iris' attention.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Nothing. Never mind, don't worry about it." Rhys said quickly. Iris hummed and returned her attention to Ozpin.

"Do, you know them Oz?" Gray asked.

"Well, I know they're reputation but not them. Have you ever heard of team KING?" Ozpin started. Almost instantly, the two teams all shook they're heads. "Well, those four individuals that you saw are them. Team KING is well, they're very infamous for they're reputation."

"Are they members of the White Fang?" Yang asked.

"No. They're just allies with the man named Roman Torchwick." Gray's face hardened when Ozpin mentioned the criminal. "Please, for the sake of your safety, don't toy with them. Your lives are important for the future."

"I don't know Oz. I want some vengeance for my eye."

"Gray, I don't want you anywhere near the White Fang or Team KING. Understand?" The boy scoffed. "Gray."

"Ok, I'll try to avoid them. But, if they're in my face, I want some fun."

"That's all I ask for." Ozpin smiled. "Is there any other questions any of you have?" Weiss raised a hand and coughed.

"Um, yes actually. Rhys and I were wondering if you knew this Team KING's names."

"Well, I do in fact. On the reports and past times that they've been arrested I've learned that they're leader is Katherine Rani. Next is the two close allies Ivan Rex and Nyla Taewang."

"Those were most likely the guy with the giant sword and the girl with the invisible katana." Ruby stated.

"Probably." Rhys muttered.

"Lastly, is Grant Kaiser."

"You guys think that he was the guy with the spear?" Iris asked. The rest nodded and Iris turned back to Ozpin. "Ok, I think we have everything answered. Right guys?" Once again the group of friends nodded.

"Good. Now, all of you are free to leave." With that, the two teams made way for the elevator only for they're leaders to be stopped briefly. "Oh, Miss Rose and Gray, congratulations on your newly acquired feelings for each other." Immediately, RWBY's leader blushed while GRIN's was more confused.

"How'd you know?"

"Well, you're two teammates Miss May and Hunt talked about it." Seeing the annoyed look Gray produced, Ozpin put two and two together. "Oh, well I believe you weren't supposed to know that. Neither was I." Gray turned to his teammates who had nervous looks on they're faces.

"H-hey, Gray look it wasn't my fault! Nia dragged me into it!" The blonde gasped at the sudden betrayal.

"What?! If it was anyone's fault it was Yang's! She even told team JNPR!"

"SHE DID WHAT?!" The couple screamed. Snapping they're heads to Yang, all they could find was a few strands of hair. Glancing at the elevator, the leader's saw they're teams inside the small, cramped box. Nia and Iris waved before the doors closed.

"Great. We were supposed to keep things secret…" Ruby grumbled.

"Hey, things aren't so bad." Gray argued.

"Gray's right. If you two think it's wise, the two of you could take a 'date' to Vale." Ozpin offered, trying to cheer the the young girl up. This only caused the girl to blush even more.

"R-really?"

"Of course!" Gray agreed. "Um, well, if only you're ok with it. What do ya' say Ruby? Wanna have some fun tonight?" It took some thinking, long enough for the two to take another elevator down. Ruby never really thought she'd have a boyfriend so early, but Gray was offering she didn't want to let him down... and she needed to leave her shy shell as some point, right?

"Well, sure. Why not?" She said randomly. This caused Gray to shout and pull Ruby into a tight, excited hug.

"Great! Just great! How about some time around 6? I'm kinda going off cheesy date times." When they reached the hallway that containted they're dorm's the girl giggled and nodded.

"Sure. Sounds like a plan." Ruby then stood on her toes and kissed Gray on the cheek. "See you later." Ruby then walked into her dorm. Finally, Gray entered his dorm to see Nia and Iris arguing.

"How could you do that to me?! I thought we were besties!" Nia cried, this display seemed very over dramatic.

"I had to! Gray was right there and-OH MY GOD HE'S RIGHT THERE!" Iris hid behind Nia who seemed very nervous.

"Um, Gray look, we're s-sorry about-"

"I don't care Nia." Instantly, the girl sighed in relief before becoming curious.

"Why?"

"'Cause, I have a date tonight and I have better things to do than kill you and Iris."

"You have a what?!"

* * *

"You have a what?!" Yang and Weiss yelled at Ruby.

"I have um, a date?" She repeated scratching the back of her head.

"This is great, Ruby! You're finally get out of your shell!" Yang smiled.

"What? I was totally fine!" Ruby pouted.

"Eh, he say she say. Anyways, we need to make you look presentable!" Yang clapped with Weiss who nodded in agreement.

"Why? Why can't I go with what I'm wearing?"

"Ruby, this is your first date and boyfriend. Plus it's Gray! Don't you wanna look good for him?" Ruby ducked her head with a faint blush.

"Mmm... yeah I do..." Yang summoned all the strength she had so she didn't hug Ruby. Her little sister slowly becoming romantic was just adorable! "But my outfit has to have my cape, got it?" The leader's sister gave a enthusiastic thumbs up while Weiss waved her off.

"Whatever. Now, let's see what you have for clothes..."

* * *

 _ **Few hours later...**_

Gray walked down his dorm hall with nothing but confidence on the outside and a little on the inside. But that was also mixed with sheer unbridled nervousness. Sure, this was his second time dating but still. It was obvious that Gray had feelings for the girl and it was also obvious that he cared for her wellbeing. The boy knocked on team RWBY's door, only to hear Yang sing 'just a minute~'. This gave Gray time to look at what he was wearing.

The boy tried to keep things simple, wearing a light gray T-shirt. The collar was fairly small but the shirt was kind of strechable. Although, the shirt was a complete fit, it seemed tight showing off his arms. The boy then was wearing normal dark blue jeans with sneakers. The one thing that kind of threw off his outfit was the standard hospital patch covering his eye. Or did it really effect his look? The pure white patch and white strings were kind of a beacon on his face.

His thoughts on his fashion was broken when the RWBY dorm opened to reveal Ruby. She smiled and closed the door to look at Gray. The boy stared back taking in her outfit.

The boy hadn't really seen Ruby dress so casually before but he was already liking the temporary new look. The young leader wore black Uggs and leggings. Her sleeveless blouse was just like everything else, black but in the center was a rose with thorns. Lastly, you couldn't forget the scythe wielder's signature red cape which kept her looking adorable and innocent. Forward up, Gray noticed Ruby wearing, wait a second... is that lipstick?

Indeed, the girl was wearing makeup much to Gray's surprise. Her lips were given a luscious red look and her cheeks had a sign of blush. That was all Gray could really decipher from Ruby's beauty. "Wow, Ruby. You look great. I didn't know you did makeup." He complimented while folding his arms and leaning slightly down to get in her face a bit. Ruby blushed and shifted her weight between her feet.

"Um, thanks Gray. Plus, I could never do this. I'd just look like a clown." Gray frowned a bit.

"Don't say that Ruby. You know I hate it when you do that." Ruby nodded.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Quickly lips were planted on her forehead, causing Ruby to look up and see Gray's smile.

"Cheer up! Plus, I'm sure you'd be one adorable clown. Let's have some fun, 'k?" Ruby perked up and nodded, her nervousness vanishing. She then embraced the boy who returned the hug eagerly. "Come on." The boy grabbed her hand and smoothly slithered his fingers in between hers before leading Ruby to the Airship docks to start they're little date.

Meanwhile, the young leader's sister had her ear against the door, listening in to the couple's conversation. "What did they say?" Weiss asked.

"Nothing too special. But, they're starting they're date. Wanna go follow them? We could get team GRIN~" Yang seemed a little too eager to tail her sister.

"Sure. Why not?"

"What about you Blake?" The blonde's partner tore her eyes away to glance at Yang, then returning to her book.

"No, I believe that this is Ruby and Gray's night and you are going to ruin it. This is your sister, and you want to spy on her. That's a shame real-and she's gone." Blake had just barely looked at Yang original position, only to not see her there and the dorm's door opened. "Why do I even bother trying to convince her? There's no real point." Blake yawned and quietly continued to read her book. "At least I don't have any distractions.

* * *

Yang skipped down her dorm hallway and stopped at team GRIN's door. Knocking on it, the door revealed Nia wearing... a lot of black. "Um... what are you doing?"

"That's classified information ma'am. Agent May, Müller and I have a top secret mission that isn't known to you civilians." Iris answered albeit extremely vaguely. Just like Nia, Iris wore an overdose of black as well as wearing a black face mask blocking sight to her nose down.

"If you're going to spy on Gray and Ruby we're going to do that to. We were going to ask if you guys wanted to tag along but I guess not." Nia was yanked aggressively from the door before fiecre whispering was heard. At last, Nia opened the door again with Iris behind her.

"Things have changed. You civilians can assist us."

"Sweet."

"Operation Mumbo Jumbo is a go." Iris and Nia whispered.

 _ **5 minutes later**_

"So, can some one tell me what is the point of this first phase?" Weiss asked.

"To sneak on the Airship that Gray and Ruby are going to be on." Nia answered.

"So, please tell me why are all of us in boxes?" Yes, Iris and Nia's first phase of Operation Mumbo Jumbo was to sneak onto an Airship. Preferably the one where Gray and Ruby we're going to use.

"We need to remain discreet."

"Guys! They're coming! Act like a box!" The operatives stood absolutely still, becoming one with they're camouflage, cardboard boxes.

"So, whaddya wanna do when we get to Vale? Wanna go to a café for something to eat? Or go see a movie? Or we could just walk around." Gray said, pointing out things to do.

"Um, well isn't there a small carnival for the Vytal festival? We could go to that."

"Let's just do whatever when we get there. We have too many ideas." Ruby laughed at Gray not being very planned. After that exchange, the two leaders walked inside, leaving the five operatives alone.

"Let's walk in." Nia commanded. With that, the boxes grew legs and nonchalantly walked inside the Airship before stopping at the entrance once again. Passing students saw the odd display and scratched they're heads before continuing they're own trials. "Ok, we'll wait here until Gray and Ruby come back." The blonde's accomplice replied with a 'rodger' along with team RWBY's blonde. Meanwhile, Weiss shifted a bit before talking to Rhys.

"So do they always drag you into these kinds of things?"

"Yup."

"I feel bad for you."

"Please Erbin, you haven't even seen how they are in our dorm."

* * *

As time passed, the ride grew more and more trivial. With the occasional rocking, it was surprisingly difficult to become one with a box. At last, the Airship landed and the couple slipped out and into the city. The boxes walked out and the operatives ditched they're disguises, confusing the citizens of Vale. The five hid in a random bush... or at least Yang, Nia and Iris did. Weiss and Rhys stood next to the bush while trying maintain to maintain they're discreetness.

The operatives watched the couple grasp each other's hand, Ruby's slipping in between Gray's fingers. A near silent click was heard. "Blackmail obtained." Nia said in a deep voice.

"I'm starting to agree with Blake. We should just leave them alone." Weiss sighed.

"Impossible. The mission can't be aborted." Yang responded. Weiss held her head in her hands.

"Now Yang's in this madness." Her muffled voice groaned.

"Now you know my pain. You'll get used to them though. In like a month." Rhys snickered. The two blondes and brunette trailed behind Gray and Ruby, the two enjoying each other in relative silence. The blondes and brunette ducked in between corners and alleyways as Weiss and Rhys walked and acted as civilized people. The couple had walked the streets until Gray pointed to a restaurant. The two then walked inside causing the operatives to groan. "Weiss you wanna head inside?"

"Won't that blow our 'cover'?" The boy shook his head.

"I don't think so. Those two lose themselves in each other so much, I'm sure we could go in without them noticing. Come on it'll be a little date." Weiss stood stiff when he said that, blushing. Luckily, the boy didn't notice and walked inside. Swiftly walking, Weiss followed Rhys inside. The boy asked for a table only to hear that most tables were occupied.

"Hang on Rhys. Here." The heiress gave the maitre d a card with her family's name on it. The maitre d gasped before apologizing and left to find them a table.

"Waving your name around huh?" Weiss smiled and nodded.

"Why didn't you do that? This would've been a lot easier."

"Well, I didn't want to steal your moment." The girl scoffed and the maitre d returned, saying that there was a booth open for them. As the two walked to they're table Weiss noticed that the place was rather packed, the establishment was in the middle of a restaurant for normal people and one built for snobby rich jerks. 'Kinda like me.' She thought. Finally they arrived at they're booth, all the way in the back of the nice establishment. As the two sat down, they noticed a abnormally large plant next to they're booth.

"Nicely done, guys." Nia's deep voice broke through Weiss and Rhys' silence.

"What the hell?! How'd you get in?" Rhys whisper shrieked.

"Not important. Just focus on the task at hand. Look Gray and Ruby aren't to far from us." Nia's red eyes poked out from the plant and two binoculars poked out as well. Rhys and Weiss just ignored the trio and tried to enjoy themselves, while also glancing at Gray and Ruby.

The two were seated before Rhys and Weiss and were currently conversing. Ruby laughed at her friend and now boyfriend as he told crazy stories of the shenanigans that he did with Iris.

"So, you're telling me that you and Iris managed to set fire to a whole lot of grass?" Ruby said between giggles.

"Yeah! Then I had to put out the flames with my jacket which was ruined! I swear Iris is worst then Nia sometimes."

"That does seem like something Nia would do." Ruby then pondered on something. Something that she always wanted to know. "Gray? Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah sure, go ahead."

"Why'd you leave?" Gray's smirk was immediately wiped away.

"Oh... yeah, that." Ruby felt bad, surely they're separation at a young age damaged Gray too, if not more. "Well... I um..."

"Never mind!" Ruby shouted. "Don't worry about it."

"No, no Ruby. You have the right to know what happened. you were too young." He sighed heavily as he recalled the memories. "After Summer died, I didn't have anyone to take care of me. My parents died before so, Summer took me in. When she died I had no where to go. Summer agreed to watch over me... not your father. He couldn't do it... he didn't want me. So...I..." Gray went silent for a bit. "... I had to go out on my own. You were four so you had no idea what was going on. I was six. A six year old forced to live by the skin of his teeth everyday. I was abused, beaten, spat on because of my 'thing'. Finally, Nia and Iris found me one day. Nia's family took me in and took care of me. And um... yeah, that's what happened. That's why I was gone for eleven years." Ruby was shocked.

"Gray I-I'm so sorr-"

"I don't want to dwell on my past now, ok?" Gray then smiled softly. "Just know that whatever happened in my past has lead me here. Happy, with friends and dating one of my most cherished." Ruby couldn't help herself but to smile.

"What are they saying?" Iris asked.

"Dunno, they look happy, though." Yang said. "Should we leave? I feel like we should leave."

"I don't know what do you guys think?" Red eyes on the plant turned to Rhys and Weiss.

"We wanted to leave a while ago." Weiss frowned.

"They need they're space. But, I will thank you guys for staying. Me and Weiss had a fantastic dinner." The red eyes of the plant return to they're original spot.

"What about you Iris?"

"I um, I guess that we could exfiltrate. I kinda feel awkward." With that said Weiss and Rhys hailed a waiter and asked for the bill. The waiter handed Rhys the bill and the boy frowned a bit.

"Need help with paying for it?" Weiss snarked. Rhys glared at the girl and shook his head.

"Nope I can handle this." After paying for it Rhys and Weiss stood up and passed the trio's secret base called the plant.

"Rhys? Weiss?" Two familiar voices called them and the duo jumped.

" _Scheisse_!" Rhys whispered. The two turned around and saw Ruby and Gray standing side by side with they're are arms crossed. They looked annoyed.

"What are you two doing here?" Gray asked.

"Are you two on a date too?" Weiss and Rhys' eyes widened at abnormal levels and blushed.

"No! Never! Not this princess!" The two collectively and frantically said no.

"Ooh! Someone lying~!" A certain brunette's voice rang out of the large plant in between the two couples... 'couples'.

"Um, did that plant thingy just talk?" Ruby scratched her head in confusion.

"Oh... shoot..." There were only a few minutes of silence, Ruby and Gray staring intensely at the large plant. "MISSION ABORT!" Iris screamed leaping out of the plant and sprinting towards the restaurants exit.

"Iris wait!" Nia and Yang shouted poking they're heads out of the cartoonishly large plant. "Oh. Hey guys!" The blondes then hightailed it, nearly knocking over a waiter. Meanwhile Ruby, Gray, Weiss and Rhys glanced at each other in complete confusion.

"So, sorry for interrupting your date guys. Enjoy the rest. Come on Rhys." Weiss walked away Rhys shrugged at the two before walking away as well. Afterwards, Ruby giggled.

"What?" Gray asked.

"You're team is crazy!"

"You're team is crazy." The boy countered.

" _We're_ crazy Gray." The boy sighed before ruffling Ruby's hair.

"That was the single most cheesiest thing you have ever said."

* * *

The couple had finished they're small date and the soon arrived at team RWBY's dorm. "Welp, this is where I drop you off?" Gray smirked.

"I guess so. Thanks for tonight Gray. It was fun and it helped ease my conscience."

"No problem Ruby. If you want to talk about my past, just let me know ok?" Gray brushed a hair out of Ruby's face before dipping down, the young leader stood up and met Gray's embrace. The boy made they're kiss short, making the younger slightly annoyed.

"Gray..." She pouted. The boy chuckled and ruffled Ruby hair again, making her groan. He pecked her forehead and Ruby smiled.

"Good night Little Rose." Ruby embraced the boy before opening her dorm door.

"G'night!" Ruby closed the door and turned to look at her dorm. Weiss had just stepped out of they're bathroom, Yang was on her scroll and Blake was... reading. Surprisingly.

"Hey Rubes. How'd your date go?"

"Oh ha ha, Yang very funny. And since you asked, my date was great. Hopefully, I'll have more in the future." Weiss awed at Ruby.

"Isn't that cute? Wittle Ruby had her date!" She snickered.

"Aren't you going out with Rhys?" Ruby countered.

"NO!" For the rest of the night, Ruby and Yang cracked at Weiss and Rhys' special dinner.


	9. A Minor Slip-up

Since the failure of Operation Mumbo Jumbo, things calmed down with the two leader's love life, thus ushering in a semi-quiet first semester. However, the interest had changed to a different subject.

Team KING. Katherine Rani, Ivan Rex, Nyla Taewang and Grant Kaiser.

The resident cat Faunus had taken extreme interest in these for, as well as an interest in sketching. She was currently going over reports of they're recent crimes. All of them involving Dust and Roman Torchwick. Blake sighed, she wanted nothing more than to see these bastards in cells. "Watcha' doin'~?" Yang asked, leaning over Blake's shoulder.

"Just, going over somethings. Classes start up again tomorrow."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Yang groaned. Before opening her mouth and letting food fly into her mouth. "Thanks Nora!" The three teams sat together, each of them conversing but… surprise surprise… Ruby and Gray had disappeared. That was until a large binder fell onto they're table and a satisfied 'phew' was heard.

"Hey guys!" Ruby chirped, Gray right behind her. She then cleared her throat, preparing for a speech. "Ahem, teammates, friends, siblings… others. A little while ago, I had a dream-"

"About, cookies? Weapons? No wait! You were dreaming about Gray!" Iris shouted. The table shuddered all together, including Gray.

"Iris. Never again. I don't even want to imagine what you think Ruby would be thinking of me."

"Anyways," Ruby tried to segway the conversation, albeit red in the face. "I had a dream where a team, my team, and another team had the greatest bestest day ever before second semester started!" The leader's boyfriend nodded.

"It's true, I was there."

"So! I decided to compile this huge thing to do a whole bunch of stuff for today!" The one-eyed boy behind her then gasped.

"What?! I helped you!"

"You fell asleep."

"Well, I um, help with putting all the ideas in the binder!"

"Wait, this is my binder!" Weiss yelled.

"Eh, finders keepers." The heiress huffed, causing Yang to snicker and causing an apple to hit her square in the face. Blake responded with a 'no', wanting to continue her study on team KING.

"Well, for the sake of team RWBY I think whatever we do, we should do as a team and a collective." Weiss stated. After Weiss had said that Yang stood up and threw food back at team JNPR. It was strange to peg an apple at someone who was literally across the table from her. Almost like team JNPR wasn't supposed to sit there.

"Hey, Gray? What can we do to do as a team?" Iris asked.

"Yeah! I still want to go on a scav-estigation hunt!" Nia pouted. As soon as the blonde frowned, Yang was pelted by a pie. The whole table gasped as the pie painfully slowly slid off Yang's face.

"Uh, well guys… I say as a team we uh, get the heck out of this cafeteria!" Gray shouted seeing just how annoyed Yang was. As team GRIN ran away from the food war, Sun and a friend of his walked towards the cafeteria.

"And then, that Gray guy woke up from nearly dying, and saved team RWBY's leader! And he kick the crap out Roman Torchwick!" Sun recalled the night where RWBY and Gray met team KING.

"You talk pretty highly about these guys."

"Well, they're cool people. And I want them to like me, especially one girl. You'll be cool around them, right? Neptune?" Sun asked, ignoring a poor blonde boy sliding down one of the grand windows of the cafeteria.

"Dude. Chill, I mean look at me." Sun's friend, Neptune, posed before smiling, still ignoring Food War IV in the background.

"True. Ok, let's go." The two waltz in, nearly being trampled by the fleeing students. Just in front of them were team GRIN, watching the other team's taunt each other. "Hey, Gray!" Sun called gaining the attention of the leader and his team.

"Oh, sup Sun!" The Faunus and his blue haired friend walked towards the team, watching team's RWBY and JNPR duke it out.

"So, you're Gray?" Neptune asked pointing at the boy in question.

"Yep. Go, Ruby!" The boy turned away briefly to cheer on Ruby and her team.

"So, you nearly died?"

"If you say so if you count getting your eye stabbed out and shot with a Dust rocket before coming to a dead stop from traveling really fast is a near death experience, then yeah. I guess so." The six winced when they watched Yang fly out of the cafeteria like a rocket.

"So, why are they fighting?" Sun asked.

"Food hit Yang. Food War started. Iris had a treaty for the last one. It lasted a while."

"What happened to it?" Gray pointed at Iris and she held a barely held together packet.

"They threw food at it!" She sobbed. "It took me hours to come up those big fancy words… how blasphemous!" Meanwhile, the two team threw and fought with food that was close to they're own weapons, destroying the soda machines and tables.

"Cool." Sun smiled, watching Blake flip and combat her rival team with extremely long pieces of bread. "How's your eye doin'?"

"Oh, it's just fine! Isn't that right Gray~?" Nia giggled, throwing her arms around Gray's neck. Getting the idea Iris did the same.

"Yeah, isn't my sweet~?" She echoed. Gray sighed before giving a quiet chuckle when he saw Neptune's confused expression.

"Are they…?" He asked. As Neptune fumbled with his question, Ruby held a soda covered Weiss in her arms as a pillar fell, making the sight a scene from a very dramatic movie. Ruby then laid a 'fainted' Weiss on the ground before dashing at Nora and the remainders of her team. The young little leader gave a cry of vengeance before leaping into the air, becoming a red bullet. She blew past her opposing team with incredible speed, catching them in the intense wind, along with hundreds of soda cans. As she reached the upcoming wall, Ruby abruptly stopped. As she did so, JNPR crashed into the wall behind her… and so did the soda cans she picked up. They crashed against the wall, painting it various colors, along with the members of JNPR.

Ruby stood up as team JNPR slid down the newly soda painted wall, waving and smiling in Gray's direction. Gray glanced at Neptune and wiggled out of Nia and Iris' hold. " _That's_ my real girlfriend."

"You never let us have our fun!" Nia complained. Walking beside her partner, Iris and Rhys.

"Told you they were cool." Sun reiterated, beaming. Neptune nodded and looked around the group of friends. Gray embraced Ruby, and congratulated her, along with Rhys and Weiss, while Nia and Iris looked through the hole Yang was sent through. Suddenly, the doors to the cafeteria were opened, revealing a not too pleased Glynda Goodwitch. Wielding her crop, she reorganized the cafeteria, returning all the vending machines and table to they're rightful places.

"Children don't play with your food." Glynda looked like she was about to explode before a familiar hand rested on her shoulder.

"Relax, Glynda. There's no point in getting so fired up."

"This is unbelievable, Ozpin. They're students, supposed to be trained to protec-"

"That's true. But they're also kids. Let them live. In due time, they'll do what they must. Sadly, innocence doesn't last forever." Ozpin declared, him and Glynda walking away as Yang fell through the same hole she made. After they're eavesdropping, Neptune turned to the group again, noticing a certain white haired girl smile and laugh at her good friend.

To Neptune, she was stunning, even with the splotches of soda in her hair. Her smile made his heart stop briefly, and her freezing cold ice blue eyes froze his core. Quickly, he walked forward and nearly shoved Rhys out of the way, of course on accident. The boy then began to talk to the heiress, the girl was both confused and slightly embarrassed on how eager he was to talk to her, he shoved Rhys Müller out of the way!

As the two conversed, Rhys shortly watched the two before scoffing, fixing his sweater and jacket, and shoving his hands in his pockets turning away from them to go talk to Iris. At least she'll always pay attention to him… kinda. Iris always in her own world. Ice blue eyes glanced at him in brief sadness before returning to Neptune.

Team RWBY said they're goodbyes to JNPR and GRIN, some more affectionately then others, and went to their respective dorms. Afterward, the teams took they're time washing the remains of food and sticky soda from themselves, along with they're clothes, luckily they had more than one pair of the basic Beacon uniform. Altogether, the team sat, talking about the new guy, Neptune. "So, that Neptune guy that Sun showed us, huh? He's pretty cute. Right, Ruby?" Yang started, her upper body dangling off her bunk.

"Nope." Ruby stated folding her arms.

"Come on! Not even a little? Who cares that you have a boyfriend? You can still look at guys. Why do you even like Gray?" Yang's sarcasm was basically leaking from her mouth.

"He's good looking and that's all I'm going to say. Plus, I like _chocolate_." Ruby huffed before grabbing her scroll. Yang snickered and looked at Weiss.

"What about you, Weiss? You seemed very happy to speak with him. Flirting back and stuff." Weiss looked away, a small hint of red in her cheeks.

"Neptune seems like a nice guy. But, I still have my doubts, I did just meet him. He immediately gave me his number, though."

"Eh, nice guy shmice guy. You like him and you know it. Probably even more than Rhys."

"Wha?! I don't like Rhys!"

"Why are you blushing so much then?" A small flick made contact on one of Yang's arms. "Ow! Blake!? Why?"

"Leave her alone. I swear you could be a detective with all of your questions." The blonde folded her arms and grumbled, not noticing Weiss grab her scroll.

"You're no fun."

"I'm no fun because I'm responsible."

"I'm responsible!" Yang squealed. The room laughed at her and she frowned. "You guys suck."

* * *

"You guys suck." Rhys frowned.

"Why? Because it's true?" Iris giggled lying on her bed, Nia next to her.

"It isn't true. I am not jealous of Neptune."

"Really? That face you had when he shoved you said differently." Nia countered.

"Exactly! He shoved me! In the midst of a conversation."

"A conversation with your crush~!" Rhys' leader chimed in.

"Shut it, Gray. Why don't you text Ruby?" Rhys then frowned again, seeing Gray's scroll and the line of texts. Of course, they were all cheesy. 'I miss you', 'please come over my team is weird', 'what are you doing', the list goes on. "I hate you some times." The boy then turned to his tormentors, not pleased with them. "I'll say this, I am not jealous of Neptune. I will never be jealous of him and I do not like Weiss. Thank you and good night." Rhys then flopped on his bed hiding his face from his team. Faint muffled groans informed him that Iris and Nia were done annoying him.

 _'Even if I did have a crush on Weiss she doesn't want me, she'd be better off with Neptune. At least she wouldn't use that "we're just business partners" shtick.'_ Rhys thought, he had a constant odd suspicion when it came to his relationship with Weiss. He knew her family and what they would do to stay successful… even starting false relationships.

Luckily, his family wasn't such fools to experience such a technique, but they have seen, heard and even used it. _'She seemed much happier when she was talking to him anyways.'_ He recalled the recent memory, Weiss with odd colors in her hair. The boy sighed into his pillow and faced the inevitable. _'I hate Iris… I do like Weiss.'_

* * *

Sleeping was strange for Gray that night. It wasn't filled with the usual goofiness, his dreams weren't clear. It was dark and foggy, his head began to ache with each passing second.

Everything was blurry, and dark except for a few silhouettes. An odd pain started to pang in Gray's head, it felt like his head was slowly being smashed. Suddenly, light graced Gray's eyes revealing a strange sight.

Beacon tower was in ruin and bodies were scattered all over the ground. Each of them was... all too familiar. "Guys!" He shouted, running to his friends one stood out from all the others. "Ruby..." He ran to the young girl, picking her up and holding her. "Ruby, please say something! What happened to you? Oh god..." Ruby's eyes were barely open, tears trails slicked along her cheeks and she had blood trickling down one of them. She felt so fragile and looked so broken in his arms. Then, a giggle rang in his ears.

"Don't worry, pretty boy. They didn't suffer… but I know you will." Looking up, the boy saw Katherine Rani, her face covered by the mask. She lifted her hand up, her grappling hook like whips hanging from her. Then she flicked her arm, causing the whip to descend down on Gray's head.

The boy snapped out of his dream just as it happened. He gasped and snapped up from his bed. He was covered in sweat as he glanced around to see his dorm room, inhabited by his team. Kicking the covers off of him, Gray walked towards his bathroom and closed the door, leaning against it. He slid down the door and shivered when his hands met the cold tile floor.

He moved one hand to his face, tracing his lips. His teeth... were much sharper than usual, not a good sign. Feeling his arms, he also noticed that his arms had slightly more hair than usual. Finally, he rubbed the top of his head feeling... it. He sighed and rubbed his arms, the strange feeling of cold washing over him. "It's happening again. Worse than before. I can't run from this forever. But I have no other choice. Oh, what do I do...?" For the rest of the night Gray asked himself that question along with recalling Ruby's 'demise'. "That won't happen."

"I'll rather die than to see her hurt… I… I need her."

* * *

Hours flew by and soon the rest of team GRIN were ready for they're morning classes, the only had three which gave them plenty of shenanigan time. Currently, they were looking for their leader. "Gray? Where are you? Iris, did you call him?"

"Yeah, his scroll's right here. Nia, maybe he left early." Iris said. Nia shook her head and fixed her ponytail.

"Not likely." They looked everywhere for him. "I guess we just go to class?"

Probably, Gray wouldn't want us to be late." Rhys muttered, opening the door and waiting for the girls to leave.

"I guess." Suddenly, there was a cough heard within the dorm. "Was that in the bathroom?" Nia walked towards the bathroom and opened it, then jumped back when Gray flopped out. "Gray?! We were looking for you!" She then gasped when she noticed the heavy bags under his eyes and something on top of his head. "What happened?" She asked, picking him up. The boy was struggling to stay awake as he spoke.

"It's happening again..." Gray gasped.

"Really? This freakout just happened just before we came here." Rhys pondered on what to do. "We need to tell Ozpin. He was friends with Gray's parents, surely he'll know something about this." Nia and Iris instantly shook their heads.

"Absolutely not. Don't forget that they went to Ozpin for help with this and he 'helped' them. What if he does the same with Gray?"

"Iris, we have to take this chance."

"We'll tell him. You guys go to class… I'll catch up." Gray yawned. Nia shook her head.

"No, that thing, it's effecting you again what if, what if you start acting like your-"

" _Nia_." The blonde instantly ducked her head down when the boy yelled at her, that almost never happened.

"Sorry, Gray. Come on guys." Nia sounded somber as she led the others into rushing out the door. Gray sighed and rubbed his eye.

"Sorry Nia." Gray applied a shirt, using the clothing as a sheath for his light dark skin. Realizing he needed to get ready for class, Gray went to retrieve the rest of his clothes, knowing he'll be late to class.

"Nia, you ok?" Iris asked rubbing the blonde's back.

"I'm fine. We've gone through this six times in the past two years. I'm just worried that it'll get worse."

"Let's hope not." Rhys grumbled, finally they walked into their class, seeing students all around the room. They had time to kill before class started so team GRIN sat down.

"Hey, guys!" Yang clapped. Everyone said they're hello's while Ruby looked around confused.

"Um, where's Gray?" She asked, her silver eyes tore at the team's souls.

"Uh..." Rhys started, "Gray might be a little late to class. He woke up on the wrong side of the bed and stuff. Ya' know, basic Gray stuff." Nia finished returning to her usual self. Ruby frowned before beaming.

"That meanie! I guess I'll have to scold him when he gets here!" Team RIN smiled. Not too long, Professor Port entered the classroom greeting everyone.

"Now, we have a few new students join us. So please, give them a warm welcome." On que, the classroom door opened revealing four students, the teams instantly recognized Sun and Neptune, the other two were most likely the other two members of they're team. "Go ahead and pick your seats." The students of the class groaned in annoyance, they weren't allowed to pick they're seats on the first day! The new team looked around and sat all over the class, Sun next to Blake and Neptune, surprisingly, next to Weiss. The girl in question turned and smiled at Neptune. _'She didn't smile at me!'_ Rhys screamed. _'Oh my god no... Hurensohn!'_ Class went on for fifteen minutes everything seemed fine.

That was until the door opened.

"Well, Mr. Gray. We've been expecting you for fifteen minutes."

"Sorry, sir." Gray's eye had a severe bag under it.

"Take your seat and don't bother my class again." Gray nodded and sat down, an arm resting his head on his desk.

"Gray? Are you ok?" The troubled boy glanced into worried silver eyes, instantly relaxing him. 'Maybe she'll help me.'

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just didn't sleep too well is all."

"Well, I'm sorry. Maybe my love and affection can help you!"

"We can't do anything here, Little Rose." Gray smiled, already she was helping. She gave him an 'Oh really' look before turning towards the front of the class. The boy then felt something grasp his arm, sliding down and holding onto his hand. The boy smiled and glanced at Ruby who was paying attention to the class but had a smile on her face. _'I'm so lucky to have you, Ruby. You always manage to cheer me up... I...'_ Finally, the boy's headache subsided and he no longer felt the strong urge to fall asleep... now he just wanted a nap.

The boy couldn't tear his eye away from the younger, she helped stop this annoying episode. Even when they were kids, Gray felt 'special' around Ruby, like... his life had a purpose. He smiled and kissed Ruby on her forehead.

"W-what?! Gray?" She stammered, blushing. They were lucky no one saw them... well, almost no one. Yang and Nia noticed and glanced at each other.

"Kids I'm tellin' ya." Nia sighed.

* * *

After they're classes, the group of friends walked towards the newly repaired cafeteria. "Gray? Are you ok from earlier?" Nia asked. Gray shrugged as he sat down.

"I guess, my headache is gone and my teeth are normal again, same with this." Gray pointed to the top of his head. "I'm lucky."

"So, should we find Professor Ozpin? He might have an answer to this." Gray hesitantly nodded, even he was not sure. "You still have a bag under your eye." Nia pointed out.

"Hmm? Oh, Ruby didn't notice."

"Well, she's Ruby. She'll think you're the hottest person ever when you look like this." Iris said.

"Nah, she doesn't like me that much… right?"

"Who knew that losing one eye would make you blind." Rhys snickered. Gray rolled his eye and finished his lunch.

"Whatever, let's go. We'll meet team RWBY afterward." Rhys nodded and stood up from his seat, Iris joining him. Nia jumped up and followed her friends. Her leader remembered what he said to her and he frowned. "Hey, Nia?"

"Hmm?"

"I want to apologize for what I said earlier. I wasn't in the right mindset. I'm sorry." Nia beamed and leaped into Gray arms.

"That's fine, I forgive you! Even though I knew you weren't yourself!" Gray stared at her before embracing the girl. Suddenly, there was sniffling.

"Brings a tear to my eye!" Iris cried before a click sound was made. Afterward, Iris held her scroll with the picture of Gray and Nia hugging. "If Ruby saw this she'd lose it~!" The girl then gasped when Rhys snatched her scroll from her, deleting the picture. "Rhys! You suck! I hate you."

"I love you too, Iris."

"No, you don't. You love _Weiss_!" Iris laughed. Rhys frowned and threw Iris' scroll down the hallway. "No! My blackmail!"

 _ **A few minutes later,**_

After retrieving Iris' scroll, the team had left for Professor Ozpin's office, just before team RWBY entered the cafeteria. "Where are they?" Ruby wondered.

"Yeah, where are they?" Weiss repeated noticing the team's absence.

"Dunno, I heard that Gray needed to talk to Professor Ozpin about something." Ruby then wondered why, her little mind running freely.

"Why? You think it's because he was late to class? You think he's in trouble?" The team collectively shrugged.

"Maybe. Who knows." Ruby huffed staring at her team.

"Thanks for clearing my mind, guys."

"Well, we don't know everything about your boyfriend." Yang said. Ruby rolled her eyes while she picked at her food. _'I hope he's not in trouble._ '

"You'd be in so much trouble if my scroll broke!" Iris yelled. The four were currently in an elevator, ascending to Ozpin's office. The team's leader yawned and rubbed his eye, gaining his partner's attention.

"Tired? You had a long morning." Gray nodded just as the doors to the elevator opened. Said doors caused Ozpin to look up from his work.

"Gray? No, team GRIN. You four are full of surprises. So, why'd you come to see me?" Rhys, Nia, and Iris glanced at Gray and he sighed.

"Oz, you know about, 'me'. That thing in my family bloodline?" Ozpin nodded slightly getting what he was saying.

"Gray… are you going through the symptoms?" The boy nodded.

"Sharp teeth, severe headaches, random waves of sleepiness, and…"

"Well, it does seem that you're going through the symptoms. Tell me, when did this start and how frequent are these breakouts?" The team thought collectively as they recalled the past.

"Well sir, these effects started around five or so years ago. However, Gray told us that these happened during his stay with Ruby but, they were harmless to him. So until now... they weren't a big deal. He'd have a small headache and one of his teeth would be razor sharp." Nia started. "As for how frequent, it seemed like an annual thing. But before we came to Beacon he had one of these breakdowns." Rhys finished. Ozpin hummed as he took in all the information.

"So, what are we going to do? Am I going to end up like my parents?" Ozpin then snapped his head upwards to Gray's direction.

"No." He answered immediately. "… not yet at least. Everyone in your family has gone through this."

"But doesn't it lead to his parent's demise?" Iris asked. Ozpin couldn't give an exact answer.

"I'm not sure. Mason and Delilah were just like this, but they dealt with it. After a while, it did lead to they're... case..." Ozpin fell silent after that. Gray's parents were a rough subject. "I'm glad you've came to me about this."

"So, what are we going to do?" Gray asked again.

"Are you still having these effects?" The boy shook his head. "Well, we'll act like nothing happened. However, I'll inform the other Professors about this. Also, should this problem appear once again, I want you four to contact me as soon as possible." Once again, they all nodded.

"Ok. Thanks, Oz. I owe you." Gray smiled. Ozpin smiled halfheartedly.

"Don't thank me for sure. We're going on a hunch, be sure to spend a lot of time with everyone, especially with who you hold dear, it could help your case."

* * *

 **Meh, this might have been disappointing. It kinda was to me, but it was still kinda fun to write, jokes and all. I surely hope you guys enjoyed, if so go ahead and leave a review down or something. Also, I wanna apologize for the basically whole month absence. I was distracted by upcoming things and such, I'll say that I'm at fault.**

 **With all that said have a nice Day people.**


	10. The Revival Of-

That boy... who was he? What was he? He was not human, that's for damn sure. He interested her to no end. Jet black hair, midnight black eyes... Oh wait, eye. She needed to hit Roman, he ruined that boy's looks. Oh, who was she kidding? He still looked good looking. How disgusting, a twenty-three-year-old woman was thinking about a seventeen-year-old boy. Eh, who cares? She's done worse, much worse. Hence the life of a criminal turned terrorist. Besides, she just looked at him, she had no interest in sexual acts whatsoever.

She wasn't attracted to the boy in any way, but she was 'attracted' to him. She always loved mysteries, and this boy was the biggest one she's seen. Romantically, was purely out of the question but… the woman had a strange attraction to that Gray boy. Now was a good time to leave, she needed to return to the rest of her team and Roman, they were supposedly meeting their boss. The woman stood up and stretched from her bed. "Hopefully, I'll have something fun to do."

The twenty-three-year-old woman scratched her head, raking her fingers through her blonde hair before turning her head to look at one of the only windows she had. All she could see was the darkness of night, with the occasional car light driving by. It was time for her to leave and meet with the rest of her 'team'.

"So, after our little pow-wow, what's next?" An elegant and relaxing voice rang through Roman's hideout.

"Hmm?" The red-haired criminal hummed as he lit a cigarette. "What you say, Katherine?" The blonde sighed and stretched, her skin tight bodysuit showing off her fit and developed body. She stood in front of the criminal, he was leaning against a crate as he waited for his superior, along with the seductive blonde's team.

"I said, what's next for our line of work?"

"What's next for you is staying quiet as we wait for our boss." Roman barked, he did not want to deal with Katherine. He and her team had been accomplices for a while, but... he couldn't stand team KING's leader. She was very... forward if that was the word that Roman could think. She used everything and anything to get what she wants, even her own body. But, he will say that the woman has boundaries, from what he could tell, Katherine has never used her body in that way.

Speaking of the blonde, she frowned and walked close in front of Roman a devilish smirk on her natural pale face. "Aw, is someone nervous? Or did I strike a nerve?" She leaned in front of the man inhaling his cigar's smoke.

"A little bit of both. 'Sides, you always get on my nerves. Now would you please get out of my face?"

"Hmm, I dunno. You know, I always like canes." Katherine grabbed Roman's weapon analyzing it. Roman grabbed the cane and wrapped it around team KING's neck, dragging her head down to his.

"Kath, go bother Nyla." Roman smiled. The blonde winked at Roman before turning heel. She wandered around the hideout, looking for the only member of her team who showed up. She scratched the top of her head, feeling small yellow fox ears.

Katherine and her team were all mostly Faunus, except for Grant. "If it isn't my favorite cat Faunus! How are you Nyla?" Katherine snickered. The small girl in question sighed and looked up and into Katherine's amber eyes.

"You know how I am Kath." The fox continued to stare blankly at the cat. After a minute, Nyla sighed. "I'm fine Katherine." This caused the fox Faunus to smile.

"Great! Do you know when Cinder will be here? I have some 'plans' with her if you get what I'm saying." Nyla shrugged.

"I dunno. Why are you asking me where your old flame is?"

"Wha- she's not an _old flame_! She's just a… _close friend_." The leader joked, she always joked. Almost everything to her was a joke, and that was why Nyla slightly enjoyed her. _Very_ … very… **very** slightly. The cat Faunus sighed and lowered her head before perking up again. She had heard something familiar, a noise that she was dying to listen to so she could leave. "Speak of the devil." Katherine snickered. The blonde turned around to see her good friend Cinder arrive, along with two kids. "Cinder! You look as lovely as ever." The woman chuckled briefly before smiling.

"Katherine. Nice to see you. Especially in person. I expect to see you on television with a mug shot. You always have the most beautiful smiles." Katherine laughed nervously and shifted her weight between her feet.

"You're too kind." Katherine then moved her attention to the two kids next to Cinder. The girl seemed really excited and the other seemed bored. "Who are these two?" Cinder gestured for the two to greet the criminal. The girl coughed and offered her hand.

"Hello. My name is Emerald Sustrai." Katherine stared at the hand, confused.

"Wha-what is that?" Emerald blinked and stuttered.

"Um, it's-it's a hand-handshake."

"Oh, I don't do handshakes." Katherine then wrapped her arms around Emerald and gave her a soft bear hug. The boy next to Cinder chuckled along with her as Emerald blushed a deep crimson.

"Katherine, Emerald here is kind of a fan of your work." The blonde's ears perked up as she placed Emerald down.

"Really? Is that so?" Emerald nodded and Katherine smiled.

"Well, enough messing around. We have to get to work." A long dragged out 'aw' filled Cinder's ears and she quickly ignored the criminal's complaining. The trio walked towards the redhead mastermind, the man was distracted with the estimations of Dust that they stole. "Roman."

"Oh, it's you. And I see you brought kids!" The man snarked, pointing at the Emerald and Mercury. "Ya know, I always thought that a divorce would work out." Emerald physically recoiled when he said that.

"Ugh, please. I'd rather have Katherine." Mercury groaned, Emerald nodded in agreement. Katherine threw her arms around the two and squealed.

"Oh, my god! My very own kids! I never thought I'd see the day!" As the fox rambled on, Cinder ignored her and went to speak with Roman. She was always the one to get work done when it came to her and Katherine. "We need to go on road trips! Family heists! Oh, we could rob banks together! Doesn't that sound amaz…"

"You had to get her started didn't you?" Cinder smiled. She noticed the resident cat Faunus watching from a distance with a faint smile on her face.

"I didn't think this would happen. But that's Katherine Rani for you. One of Vale's most dangerous criminals. And your ex."

A small glare was sent Roman's way which made him chuckle. "Why didn't you take care of that White Fang member I told you about? You had a whole week." The man sighed. Why was it that Cinder could switch from the smallest amount of happiness to anger. He then gestured to the mounds on top of mounds of Dust.

"You're joking, right? Do you not see the crates of Dust that we have? 'Sides, your kids had everything under control." Emerald glared at him.

"It was still your job to take care of him. Mercury and I-"

"Upupupup! No fussing when adults are talking." The girl glared piercing daggers at the criminal but quickly turned her attention to her role model, Katherine."

"I have an idea!" She whispered. As the blonde dragged Emerald and Mercury behind Roman, the two 'adults' continued with their conversation.

"That still doesn't excuse you for not doing what I requested." Cinder continued.

"Well, I'm sorry. I was too busy with stealing all the Dust possible in Vale! I would like to know what your little plan is too. You tell Kath everything." Roman demanded to know.

"In due time, Roman. In due time. Katherine, come with me. I need your help for something important." Mercury and Emerald followed the woman as Roman went to grab his lighter, a cigar in his mouth After not being able to find it, he glanced toward Emerald who held his favored lighter in her hand. She then stuck her tongue out before shoving it into her pocket.

"God damn, what did I get myself into?"

"Dunno, Roman. But, good luck with that smoke." The man looked at the blonde just to see a vial of red just fly at his face. Roman scrambled to grab it, but it soon fell to the floor, shattering. The vial blew up in Roman's face, soot covering him. However, his cigar was now lit and he sighed in sadness. He snapped to his left where Katherine was, however, the fox was gone.

"A fox and a pyromaniac. What a lovely combination."

* * *

A small giggle bounced off team GRIN's room. A young leader snuggled up to her boyfriend, feeling his strong arm around her small frame of a body. The two were alone in the boy's room, abandoning their teams to spend some quiet time together. The girl balled her hand, grabbing a fistful of his black tank top. The article both looked great and slightly accented Gray natural light dark skin.

The girl recalled when she told Yang that she liked 'chocolate'. Gray would've surely been proud of her for saying such a wasn't like what she said was wrong. She didn't really have a preference for anyone but she had accidentally overheard a conversation about such a topic. Plus Yang also just straight up told her. A light pressure on her forehead made Ruby look up and into Gray's happy eye. "Yeah?" The boy chuckled and kissed her nose.

"Nothing. Just that you were out of it for a bit." The girl looked away faintly, slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry, I was distracted by something.

"Oh? What was it? Was it my tight tank top? It looked like you were trying to tear it away." He snickered. This caused the girl to blush significantly.

"Wha? No! I wouldn't do such a thing!" The boy laughter at his girlfriend's turmoil. The girl huffed and scrambled off of Gray and folded her arms, trying to force the blush down.

"Aw, don't be like that." Ruby felt dark arms move around her and pull her to the center of Gray's bed. A low squeal left the younger's lips as she landed on a pillow. Gray trapped her underneath him, a smile on his face. "… 'cause I knew you were thinking about it." He growled lowly, his voice ran through Ruby causing her to shiver. The boy ran his fingers through Ruby's hair as she wiggled uncomfortably and awkwardly. The young leader's body went stiff as he cupped the back of her head, the hairs on her neck standing at attention. "… as am I with removing some clothing." The girl's eyes went wide with shock and surprise, the latter increasing ever more with a forceful kiss.

An accidental moan slipped out of the younger's lips, as she stared into Gray's single eye. The boy's hands outlined the younger's body, taking things both slow and fast. The boy growled into the kiss, feeling Ruby's small hands glide over his back and grip his shirt tightly. Pulling away, Gray grinned as he removed his black tank top revealing his chest. _'I guess I was right...'_ Just as he lightly kissed the younger's neck, a light knocking rang throughout the room. The two both stare at the door before a groan slipped from Gray. Getting off of Ruby, he walked towards the door as the younger sat up and stopped looking dumbstruck. He yanked the door open and leaned against the door frame. "What?" He asked not paying attention who was at the door. The boy's eye widened when he saw Weiss, red in the face.

"Um, why are you without a shirt? And where's Ruby?"

"I have an answer to both. I was without a shirt because I was busy with a certain, someone. Whaddya want?" He said plainly.

"I wanted to find my partner, could I not do that?" A dazed stare caused Weiss to sigh. "Fine, I'm bored! Blake is so immersed by those team KING fellows, Yang is a 'dungeon master' or something for team JNPR and the rest of your team is in Vale. Speaking of your team, what's up with Rhys? Why is he avoiding me?" _'Is she serious?'_

"I dunno." He lied. "As for your boredom, I don't think Ruby's okay with you watching us do stuff, nor do I think she'll let you join in." The heiress turned beet red and tried to shove Gray, this only caused him to lightly move back a bit.

"You imbecile! I don't want to join or-or watch!" Weiss' screaming caused Ruby to jump off Gray's bed and duck under his arm that was holding the door before standing in front of the boy.

"Hey, Weiss! Is he bothering you?" Ruby asked, smiling nervously.

"Yes, Ruby. In fact, he is." The heiress then remembered something while trying to ignore Gray's arm around Ruby, which she held it like it was a teddy bear. "Can you two come with me? Blake is so focused on that team so much. She's becoming even more antisocial than usual." Gray lazily glanced at Ruby who was looking at him as well. She had a pleading gaze to her which, melted Gray. The boy sighed and smiled.

"I can't say no to those eyes." He kissed Ruby's forehead and left to go grab his shirt.

"Let's go, Weiss!" Ruby proposed. She dragged Weiss back to her dorm and opened the door. As Gray pulled his shirt back on he stepped out of his door. As soon as he did so, someone bumped into someone causing the person to fall.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. Are you ok?" The boy offered a hand to the person who fell. It was weird, she had mint green hair.

"Yes I'm fine, I just wasn't paying attention." The person grabbed his hand and Gray helped her up.

"Oh? Are you lost?" He asked. Looking behind the girl Gray met the eyes of another man.

"Visiting." The man said he rubbed Gray off the wrong way. He had a weird feel to him.

"Oh, you're the exchange students. Where ya from?" The man moved out of the center of the hallway and revealed an another woman. She both looked like a mature woman and a young one as well, it was strange.

"Mistral." She said in a lax tone of voice. Sometimes about this woman made Gray feel odd. Like something deep within him told him desperately to stay away from her, and another part said the opposite. Her eyes were so intimidating and her smile didn't help either.

"Ok. That's cool. You do know that your dorms are across campus, right?" The trio glanced at each other before returning their laid-back gazes to Gray.

"I guess we're a little lost." Another voice rang out and into Gray's ears, again, another female walked into his sight this one had an excited smile on her face. "Can you tell us some directions to get there?" Her voice was relaxing and for some reason… elegant.

"Sure…" As Gray informed the woman he fully scanned her person. It was safe to say that the woman was eye candy, no doubt about it. Her long blonde and light blue hair cleverly hid adorable yellow fox ears. Her face was gentle and matured, along with her body, oh wow. Gray didn't want to be rude, he finished his directions, not staring at the woman's body. "… and you should be there."

"Oh, thank you so much." The trio behind her thanked the boy and walked ahead while the woman stayed in front of Gray, just barely shorter than him. "I really appreciate it. What's your name?" The woman was now pretty close to Gray, her voice hushed.

"Um, Gray." He said while planting his hands on her shoulders. "… and I'm taken. Sorry." The woman had a small frown briefly for smiling again.

"Funny, I thought so. I'll see you around." She turned to follow her allies but was stopped by a low 'wait'.

"What's your name?" The woman thought about it for a few seconds before looking at Gray again.

"Catalina. See ya, cutie!" She winked before walking away. She had some enthusiasm in her walk, swaying her hips side to side. The boy shrugged and walked to Ruby's dorm.

"Katherine. You had to flirt with him did you?" Cinder frowned.

"What? Can't I have any fun? And don't worry, I may be bisexual but I kinda prefer you more." The woman rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."  
"It can be whatever you want it to be." _'He is cute, though… Gray… messing with him could be fun.'_ As the four walked away, Gray entered team RWBY's door only for Blake to crash into him.

"Come on! This is the second time today." He complained as he helped Blake up. As he helped the Faunus to her feet Weiss had asked her why she's been so distant and so interested in team KING.

"Why am I so interested in them? How can't I? Did you see what they did? What they can do? Do you know what they did?"

"No, but-"

"Murders on important people, robberies, arson, the list goes on! They've escaped jail countless times! And now they're working with the White Fang! We need to know what they'll do! We got lucky when we stopped them at the docks but the cost was Gray's eye! Ruby, you and Gray almost died! We need to put a stop to what they are doing!" Blake shouted.

"Whoa! Blake, I'm all for going after those assholes but, like you said, they almost killed me and Ruby. We're not ready, we're still students."

"We might never be ready! KING isn't going to wait for us to graduate. We need to do something now."

"Blake, think about this. You want us to go toe-to-toe with four individuals. Individuals that are highly experienced in killing and every other crime in the book. Are you sure you want to go on a suicide mission?" Weiss asked, she had her doubts but she slightly agreed with Blake.

"Yes. I'm sure." Blake nodded. She heard Gray snickering behind her and the Faunus turned around to see the boy grinning.

"Welp. You can't be alone on this." Gray smiled.

"Yeah, you aren't in on this alone Blake. I'm sure the whole team will help." Ruby smiled. "Knowing Yang, she'll give you a piggyback ride to help." Ruby glanced at her grinning boyfriend.

"And my team doesn't have anything else to do besides goof off. So why don't we goof off while helping you guys? I'm up for it." Blake smiled at her friends.

"Thanks, guys, I really appreciate it." The three in front of her nodded.

"So. When do we get to work?"

* * *

 _Outcast Ranger- that's right suckers I'm back again after being homeless for two months yay, but really good to be back and good to see this awesome writer is still working hard._

 **My Reaction: You were homeless for two months? Either I'm extremely gullible or that's the truth. If it's the latter, then I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad you are back.**

 **Well, I'm going to start to respond to these reviews at the end of every chapter, just so it won't break the motion of the story. I hoped you guys and enjoyed if so leave a review down or something I don't know.**

 **Have a nice day everyone.**


	11. Operation: Mumbo Jumbo 2

Just two more minutes. Two more minutes till GRIN and RWBY went to work. Nia and Iris smiled at each other before glancing toward Yang, who had a similar smile on her face. GRIN's leader, Gray, was sound asleep, not fazed by his teacher. Shortly after the end of class was announced, Ruby shook him awake. A bell rings in everyone's ears and the two teams speedwalk out. The two had agreed to regroup in team RWBY's dorm and plan out everyone's roles there.

RWBY had quickly dressed up for they're night and patiently waited for their accomplices to arrive. "So, who's gonna do what?" Yang asked, fixing her outfit.

"Well, GRIN is coming with us so maybe…" Weiss thought. "Rhys with me, Iris with Yang and Nia with Blake. Ruby and Gray is probably mandatory." The little leader frowned and shoved her partner.

"No! It's not mandatory! I don't need to be around him all the time." The young leader's team snickered.

"That's not true." Said a familiar voice. The team snapped their attention to their window seeing a familiar monkey Faunus.

"Sun?!" The team exclaims.

"And Neptune." The boy pointed to his left and the team peeked their heads out to see the boy Faunus' blue-haired companion.

"Hi. Can I come in? We are really high up." The team let's the boy in albeit reluctantly. "Thanks."

"Why were you two near our window?" Weiss folded her arms, not pleased and ignoring the small pang of excitement to see Neptune.

"We saw that you guys were so excited about something and we wanted to find out what it was." The team ignored Sun's terrible excuse and thought about what to do with him and the resident 'cool guy'.

"Tell you what, we'll let you help, us we might need extra hands too." Weiss comprised.

"Weiss?! What about team GRIN?!" Ruby shouted. Just as she finished yelling, loud wraps emitted from the dorm door. The leader opened the door and smiled when to see saw her boyfriend.

"Heya. Why are you yelling?" He smiled, the little leader moved out of the way as team GRIN walked inside, finding spots to sit around the room.

"Um, Sun and Neptune want to help."

"What?! No way! We asked first! Actually Gray did… Gray asked first!" Iris complained.

"Yeah, we need this scav-estigation hunt! Operation Mumbo Jumbo 2.0!" Nia added.

"We'll just have everyone in groups," Weiss said. "Iris, with Yang and Rhys. Blake and Sun. Nia and Gray with Ruby. And Neptune with me." She liked the way things worked out.

"Nah." Yang denied. "Iris with me and Neptune, Blake, and Sun. Nia with Gray and Ruby, and we can't forget, Rhys with you." Eighty percent of the group nodded in agreement. Rhys smiled to Yang as she winked in his direction.

"Um… ok." The heiress was still content with her partner and the two swiftly walked out. Nia, Gray, and Ruby soon followed, not too far behind the two. Blake glanced at Sun and they both shrugged, leaving as well. Finally, All that was left of the group was Neptune, Iris, and Yang. Awkwardly the blue-haired boy spoke up.

"So… what's the plan?"

"We're going clubbing." Yang smiled.

* * *

Rhys and Weiss, Nia, Ruby, and Gray walked around campus heading towards Beacon's Cross Continental Transmit System Tower. "So, why are we going here?" Rhys asked, adjusting his jacket and turtleneck.

"We need information on somethings. And I think my family just might have some info on such subjects." Rhys smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Great, meeting the family already." Weiss chuckled as they entered the large tower.

Meanwhile, the more easily distracted part of the group was living up to they're name. Ruby very quickly wanted to take a picture and grabbed her scroll but it slipped from her hands and slid away from her. As soon as the item came to a stop, some grabbed it and gave it back to Ruby, that someone had an all to familiar face and voice. "I think you dropped this."

"Penny?!" The two leaders yelled in perfect succession.

"Nickel?" Nia asked, snickering to herself. The three ignored her and continued to talk amongst them.

"What happened to you?! You disappeared as soon as Gray was moved to an ambulance!" The orange-haired girl continued to walk, she had this distant feel to her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Penny then hiccupped, jolting from the random action. She then proceeded to continue walking, Ruby following her. Meanwhile, Gray and Nia stood next to each other confused.

"Who the heck is Dime over there?"

"Nia, her name is Penny."

"Oh, ok so Pence. Who is she?" Gray sighed.

"She was this weird girl that Rhys and I met. At the docks, she had this crazy backpack too." The boy explained. Nia nodded and the two watched Ruby from a distance.

"Penny! Wait! Please listen to me! Those people who were at the docks are up to something big. And we're going to need your help, so please, talk to me." Ruby held the girl and stared into her eyes, giving Penny the puppy eye look. It always worked on Gray so surely it could work on her. Penny slowly nodded and Ruby mentally celebrated.

"Meet me at the front of a café not too far from here. It's not safe to talk here." Penny whispered, Ruby nodded and waved goodbye for now. The leader then ran back to G and N.

"So, what was that about?" Gray asked.

"Penny was to talk to us, follow me." Nia stood next to Ruby and they immediately started to leave.

"Hey, Ruby. You think I'll get lucky with Cent around?"

"Who?" Ruby asked confused.

"Don't worry about it Ruby. Nia's just crazy."

* * *

Rhys and Weiss walked inside the impressive tower, now realizing N,G, and R disappearance. "Wait, Erbin, Gray Nia, and Ruby are gone." Weiss turned around and placed her hands on her hips.

"And we care why?" Rhys chuckled.

"You're right, we lost our overwhelming nuisance." Weiss smiled and continued to lead the duo.

Pressing the button to signal the elevator, Rhys gestured for Weiss to walk in. Rolling her eyes, the heiress smiled and walked in. Her companion then slid his scroll into a port, allowing the elevator to identify him. Rhys said which floor he wanted to go to and the elevator took off. The two stood in silence, both of them slightly awkwardly around each other all of a sudden.

After a long incredibly boring elevator ride, the doors opened and the two walked out. Rhys scanned the faces of the few people that were here, saying hello to they're distant parents and saying that they arrived at Beacon. Finding an open communication station, Weiss sat down while Rhys leaned on the monitor. Sliding her Scroll in another port, the screen came to life. The heiress contacted her family business and patiently waited for the call to connect. "Thank you for calling Schnee Dust Headquar-oh! Miss Schnee! And Mr. Muller! How are you?" A woman said.

"Great." The two smiled. "We need some information on a few things. We have a list." Weiss noted.

"May I ask why you need these documents?"

Weiss and Rhys glanced at each other before saying, "It's a school project."

"Ma'am these are very sensitive documents."

"Then we'll be extra careful with them." Weiss replied almost instantly.

"Um, there, I sent the data to you scroll."

"Excellent." The heiress thanked.

"Oh, before you go, I could connect you with you father. I'm sure he'd be glad to see-"

"No! No, thank you. That's all goodbye." Weiss then ended the call with a sigh.

"So, what are we doing after this?" The boy ignored all of that for now.

"I don't know, I'll text Gray and as for where they are."

"In the meantime, do you want to head to Vale?"

"Sure."

* * *

The NGR trio, walked down the streets of Vale, the girls leading and Gray behind. The little leader glanced back and over to Nia. "Um, Nia? This is kind of a rough subject but… what was Gray like when you met him?" Nia's usual cheerful demeanor faltered.

"Well, Gray was… scared. Iris, me and our parents were walking down a street. I didn't really have a father but…" Nia shook her head. "I'm getting off topic. We then heard a little boy crying. Iris followed the sound and her mother followed. My mom dragged me with her and we walked into an alley where, he sat." Nia's voice grew lower by the minute. "Gray had bruises on him and, small cuts. He looked so miserable. Iris and her mother ran to him and… he cowered." Nia took a shallow breath and continued. "Iris continued to walk towards him and she embraced him. Iris, is the exact same person as she was all those years ago. Gray then tried to squirm away, before sobbing even more. Iris' mother helped with comforting him. After talking with him and healing him, we managed to let him let us take care of him." The two stayed silent after that for a minute. "What was Gray like when he was with you?"

Ruby smiled recalling all the memories. "Well, he was a complete goofball."

"Yep, that's Gray for you."

"But he was extremely sweet and kind. Not to forget he was a little overprotective." The two giggled. "Like, one time I got bit by a spider and Gray grabbed it and ran out side. He did something to it and then ran back to me and kissed my bite mark." Nia laughed.

"One, time Me, Iris and Gray destroyed a bunch of ant hills. And then later we realized that the ant hills had fire ants in them." The two giggled with each other while waiting for the crossing sign to switch, while Gray eventually caught up with the two.

"Why were you two so ahead? I'm almost out of breath!" Gray gasped. Nia rolled her eyes while Ruby hugged him. "What's up with the Public Display of Affection?" Ruby didn't respond and only snuggled deeper into his chest. Nia gagged.

"Ugh, couples."

"Oh, you're just jealous." Nia blew a raspberry at Gray.

"Am not! I have Iris!" The blonde huffed. Ruby snapped her head in Nia direction.

"Wait, you're dating Iris?" Nia and Gray shrugged.

"'Dating'." Nia and Gray said. Finally, the sign gave the signal to walk and the trio crossed the road. Finally, the saw Penny waiting awkwardly in front of a café, Ruby grabbed Gray's hand and dragged him to Penny.

"Penny!"

"Hey, Ruby. Gray." The boy waved before Ruby spoke up.

"Penny, do you know anything about team KING?" The three continued walk now with Penny. The girl shook her head.

"No, I don't know anything about them."

"Well, why'd you disappear?" Gray asked.

"I… had to leave." Penny simply said.

"Well, why didn't she contact us? We thought something happened to you."

"I'm sorry Ruby. My father didn't want me to talk to you guys."

"You're father was that nervous about you?" Penny nodded.

"He loves me very much."

"Trust me, I know the feeling." Ruby smiled. Gray and Nia frowned a little but stayed quiet.

"Ruby I am sorry. I just couldn't talk to you, or to Gray, or to the rest of your teams." She mumbled. The four then stopped when they the heard a vaguely familiar voice. Turning their heads to the sound, the four saw two large containers each of them had the Atlas logo on them. In front of the two containers was a familiar sight, Knight units. Automated guards. Further ahead was a projection General Ironwood.

"…and a fine job they've done, correct? But, sometimes fine just isn't enough. No, sometimes we need excellence!" The containers then began to open revealing units similar to the Knights. "Introducing, the Knight 2.0!" The new Knight units kicked over their ancestors. "Smarter, sleeker, and honestly, less scary. These incredible Knights will protect you during the remainder of the Vytal festival. Finally, we have one more exciting thing to present." Ironwood vanished with a faint flash of blue, soon after the projector presented something new. A fully large mech. "Introducing the Atlas Paladin! This mechanical armor was forged by the incredible assistance of Müller Munitions, one of the sister companies of the Müller family. And we can't forget the help of the Schnee Dust Company. Thanks to them, these protectors will arrive at a later date!" As Ironwood continued, Atlas soldiers noticed the group.

"Um, Ruby I think we should leave." Penny then took off into a sprint, Ruby right behind her.

"Why should we? Guys?" Gray turned around to find Penny and Ruby gone. Nia turned around and watched the Atlas soldiers run after them. "God damn it." The boy sighed.

Penny continued to sprint through the streets and alleys of Vale, Ruby in tow. Noticing that the soldiers were right behind her, Ruby activated both her semblance and weapon. Using the boost of speed, Ruby slashed at a wooden platform, knocking over crates and boxes, buying her and Penny some time. Seeing her friend run across a street, Ruby followed before hearing a loud horn fill her ears. Turning to her left she saw a truck going full speed and struggling to slow down.

Penny spun around and quickly sprang into action, she pushed Ruby out of harm's way before throwing her hands forward. A loud crash filled Ruby's ears. Looking up, she saw Penny fine… but the truck was totaled. "Whoa."

"Are you ok?" Penny asked the driver and he gave a thumbs up. Penny then sprinted out of the street and into another alley, Ruby scrambled up and pushed past a few civilians.

"Penny! What was that? What happened?!" Ruby threw the questions at her before looking at Penny's hands.

"Ruby, I'm not a real girl." The 'girl' admitted.

"…Oh. Huh. Can you explain, please? My brain hurts."

"Well, you were born but… I was made, I'm the first synthetic girl to be able to generate Aura. So, I'm not real." Penny looked down at her feet, her mechanical hands and saw nothing but the Knights back at the presentation.

"Penny, you are real, in your own way. You aren't like the Knights. You have a heart and you have a soul. I can see it, clear as day." Penny widened her eyes and grabbed Ruby, clinging to her.

"Oh, Ruby! You're the greatest and most wonderful friend that anyone could as for!" As Penny let her go, they heard the familiar yells of the two Atlas soldiers that pursued them. "Ruby! You need to hide!" Penny then picked the younger up and placed her in a, luckily, empty dumpster.

"Penny! No!"

"Don't worry, Ruby. Everything will be fine. I just don't want you to be in trouble. I see you later, maybe at the tournament." Afterward, Penny closed the dumpster. The sound of running rang through Ruby's dumpster. The guards made quick work of asking Penny why she ran and they hastily left. Ruby peeked out and saw that the coast was clear.

"Ruby? Why are you in a dumpster?" The girl turned to her right and met both Gray and Nia's confused gaze.

"Uh…"

* * *

"So, you're friend that would help us is in this club?" Neptune asked.

"Why with the questions just roll with it, Nep!" Iris smiled.

Inside the club, Junior watched new shipments of alcohol and bottles being moved and stocked. Glancing at the front entrance to his club he saw his men struggle to close the door. With a loud bang, the two goons were thrown off the door and Yang waltzed in. "Guess who's back!" Yang yelled, before guns after guns were shoved into her face.

"And she's brought company~!" Iris sang walking next to Yang and bringing Neptune with her.

"Stop stop, don't shoot! This place was messed up as it was." Junior ordered before adjusting his tie. "Blondie! You're, here… why?"

"You owe me a drink."

"Yeah! What she said! Neptune said. "Why does he owe her a drink?" He whispered to Iris.

"I have no clue." The blonde and large man walk over to the bar while the Junior's goons walked away. Neptune noticed two girls, most likely twins, staring and him and Iris.

"Sup." The twins rolled their eyes and muttered a whatever. The Neptune's Eye duo caught up with Yang and watched Junior pour her a drink.

"What do you know about team KING and Roman Torchwick?"

"Nuthin'." Junior simply said.

"Come on, Junior."

"Yeah Junior, talk." Iris slapped Neptune's mouth shut and the large man ignored the blue-haired buffoon.

"I don't know where he or this team KING you speak of is. He came here not too long ago, he said he need to schedule a quiet meeting in one of the rooms. I gave him one and then he left. Simple as that." Yang sighed in disappointment and walked away from the owner.

"What do we do now? That was our only lead." Yang shrugged.

"I dunno. Hopefully, everyone else is having better luck."

* * *

"So is this the place?" Sun asked. Blake glared at him. " You know what? I'ma take your word for it." The two were just in front of a White Fang recruiting area. This spot just so happened to have a meeting as well. The two entered the small building and grabbed the signature White Fang masks. "Why do they even have these?"

"It'll take me way too long to explain." The Faunus duo put the masks on and enter the meeting room. Multiple new recruits and actual White Fang followers filled the crowded area. Blake and Sun entered right when they introduced one of the White Fang's great helpers.

Roman Torchwick.

The man entered and immediately the crowd began to complain. 'Why is there a human here?' 'Who is this bastard?' and so on. As the crowd continued, Blake noticed a familiar man walk onto one of the many balconies that inhabited the small warehouse. "That's Grant Kaiser." Before Sun could say anything, Roman began his little speech.

"Now, let me admit this, as much as it pains me. My kind is, the, worst. I understand why you want us to be locked away. But it's not all humans that suck. It's the government, military, hell even the schools. People who kept filling others minds with lies. Pests," Roman smiled to himself as he reached for the large White Fang curtain behind him. "Luckily for us, I have the best exterminators around. And boy do they have the best poison possible."

The criminal pulled down on the curtain, revealing… an Atlas Paladin. Along with Katherine Rani on one of its large arms, she waved at the crowd and they all murmured to themselves, divided between the crazy criminal Katherine and the large Paladin in front of them. "Thanks to this lovely lady," Katherine blew Roman a kiss as he spoke. "We managed to steal a few of these bad boys. They were supposed to keep the villains away. But we'll use them for our own. Now, some of your friends have already moved to the southeast for another operation. But, that's for a later date. If you want to fight for what's right, and win? Well, I'm your guy." The crowd applauded while Blake and Sun looked for an exit.

"New recruits! This way!" A White Fang member ordered. The various Faunus walked towards another room, Blake and Sun stayed put. As they looked for their exit, Sun noticed Katherine, stare at them.

"They see us. Blake, what do we do?"

"Turn out the lights." Blake then pulled out her pistol and fired at a circuit breaker, shutting off the lights. "The window!" The Faunus duo jumped out of the window and sprinted away. Looking back Sun saw one of the buildings walls smash into pieces as the Atlas Paladin chased them.

"Aw, come on! Blake! We need help!"

"On it!" The Faunus grabbed her scroll and immediately called for help from her team. " _Sun and I need help! We're being chased by a Paladin!_ " Rhys stared at Weiss who rolled her eyes. The heiress walked ahead of the boy behind her.

" _This thing is freaking scary man!_ " Sun shouted, gaining the attention of Gray, Ruby, and Nia.

"Where are you guys?" Ruby asked. Not long after she asked, the leader watched the two Faunus run across an adjacent street.

"I think there over there." Gray smiled.

"Quick! Let's go!" Nia sprinted after them, the couple in tow.

" _Help us!_ "

"We're on our way, Sun." Yang rolled her eyes, these guys were something else. The blonde, Neptune and Iris saw them run past their street and pursued the pursuer that was pursuing the Faunus duo.

The two leaped onto one of the many roads that took up a highway, the Paladin joining them, flipping cars can chasing after them. Yang, Iris, and Neptune landed on other cars and tried to catch up. "How do we catch up?!"

"Don't worry, girls! I got this!" Neptune grabbed his weapon from his back and transformed it into a trident, he then lunged towards the Paladin and stabbing it.

"Hang on Neptune I'm coming!" Sun grabbed his staff and jumped to Neptune's aid. Roman, while inside the Paladin, threw Neptune into Sun, knocking the two off the highway. Iris and Yang rolled their eyes.

"Men."

"Tell me about it, Weiss are you close by?" Yang asked.

"I should be right in front of you." The heiress then turned to Rhys. "I take it you don't have your weapons with you?"

"No, I always have two or three with me."

"Then I expect you to be perfect."

"As usual." Rhys rolled his eyes. The boy ordered his orbs to fly ahead and changed their modifications to where they used the small amounts of fire Dust inside them. While this was happening Weiss used her rapier to freeze the road in sleek shiny ice. "The Paladin should be coming in three, two, one…" The Paladin ran underneath Rhys' orbs and the boy snapped his fingers causing the orbs to burst to fire and slam into the Paladin's hull. The mech then slipped on the ice and fell off the highway, Yang and Iris right behind it. "See? Perfection."

"You were off by a second." The boy scoffed.

"You wish."

Roman fell onto the ground, just in front of Ruby, Nia, and Gray. "Welp. Sun didn't lie. That is scary." The two teams reunited with each other and stood in front of Roman.

"Well, this isn't fair. Shouldn't we even the playing field? Oh, Katherine~!" A lone Bullhead flew overhead and four people jumped out, the four were all too familiar.

"Did you call?" Katherine snickered. She then noticed the two teams. "Is it me or is there three extra people? Where's that monkey Faunus and that girl with the swords?"

"Ruby." Gray snarled. "Take care of the Paladin. We got team KING." Ruby nodded.

"Is no-one gonna answer my question? Ok." Katherine laughed. The two teams split off RWBY with the Paladin and GRIN with team KING.

GRIN ran straight towards KING, and each individual split up with their opposing adversary.

Gray lunged at Katherine but the woman swiftly dodged before ending up behind him. She slammed her fist into his back, pushing him forward. "Oh, how I missed you! You were so much fun! It's a shame Roman had to ruin your eye." Gray swiped at the woman and landed the slice.

"Well, if you feel so bad about it, why don't you let me kick Roman's ass?" He growled.

"Sorry, I can't do that, I need him a little longer." Katherine the shot one of her grappling hooks, upwards and onto the bottom half of a road on the elevated highway. Before it pulled her upwards, she kicked in Gray's direction, firing another hook. Using the speed of the first grapple she whipped Gray across the face. The boy grabbed the hook and yanked downward. Katherine's first hook snapped off the road and Gray threw her down to the floor. The woman laid still on the ground before pushing herself up. "Ok, handsome. I like being rough."

Meanwhile, Nia and Iris struggled with Ivan and Nyla, the two working together. "Nia! Whenever I swing use that time to push up!"

"Got it." The brunette threw her sword off her shoulder, seeing the weapon extended towards, Ivan and Nyla. The two easily moved out of the way, however, they didn't see Nia sprint towards them. With her katana and dagger in hand, Nia swiped and slashed at Ivan, utilizing her katana's range. She then thrusted her weapons knocking Ivan down to one knee. Nyla saw her comrade in trouble and ran to his aid, but she quick forgot about Iris' sword. The cat Faunus was thrown back and she cursed under her breath.

Rhys was thrown back by a bolt of electricity fired by Grant's large spear. The boy scrambled up and fired his fire modified orbs but the older man moved out of they're way easily. Rhys smiled and pulled the orbs back, something Grant didn't expect. The spearman felt an extra six orbs slam into his back, knocking him down. Grant, frustrated, gripped his spear and thrusted in Rhys' direction firing another bolt. The boy angled a ball to absorb the bolt and fire it back, grazing the large man.

Having enough of this Grant began to elevate off the floor, clutching his spear. With a sudden burst of speed, he stabbed Rhys and threw him far back and into a large pillar. The boy tried to get up but was knocked back down back Grant. With a third attempt, Rhys rolled out of the expected stab and fired three orbs into Grant. The man took the orbs in the chest and recoiled slightly. "Damn. Not bad kid." Rhys didn't say anything but launch more orbs in his direction. "Not up for talking. Fine."

After using team attack after team attack team RWBY was successful with smashing Roman's prized Paladin to literal pieces. With a fierce and intensely hot punch, Roman flew out of the Paladin. "Damn it, right when I was getting the controls down too." The criminal stepped back from the approaching team. "Well, kids. It's been fun but, our little play date has to end. So," before Roman could say another word, Yang fired at him, but something blocked the bullet. "Neo, let's get outta here."

The thing that blocked the bullet was supposedly a girl with, brown and pink hair, her eyes had a similar color scheme, she seemed to have blocked the attack with an umbrella. As Roman entered the landed Bullhead, Yang sprinted towards the girl known as Neo and threw a punch. What confused the blonde was the satisfying sound of breaking glass and the shattering of the girl.

Glancing at the Bullhead, the blonde saw Neo, sitting at the edge, legs crossed and waving, with her umbrella on her shoulder. Seeing Roman leave, team KING took this as a good time to leave. Nyla and Ivan ran to the Bullhead, leaving Iris and Nia confused. The Bullhead began to take off and Grant flew over to the ship, leaving Rhys gasping for air. The Bullhead began to fly away, heading in Katherine's direction. "It's been fun darling but, I really have to go. I'll see you around. Cutie." The woman then fired a grappling hook into the hull of the ship, flying away with it.

The two teams stood there still in shock. Once again Roman and team KING alluded them. Hearing coughing and shaken gasps, Weiss looks to see Rhys hurt. "Rhys!" Running to him, she shakes him. "Are you ok? Don't die!"

"Relax! I'm not dying. But you are making me nauseous, Erbin." He smiled. Ruby walked to Gray and looked around, still alert.

"Is it over?"

"I think so." Gray said while Nia gasped.

"Iris! We completed our scav-estigation hunt!"

"Really?! Woohoo! Bingo!" The two girls embraced and jumped up and down while the others watched and laughed.

"Good job Ruby. Team attacks? I never thought of that." Gray snickered, ruffling Ruby's hair.

"Thanks! I could help you come up with a few."

"Nah, I'm too lazy." Ruby giggled and embraced the boy as he returned the hug.

"Guys! Guys!" Two familiar voices suddenly came into hearing. "We're ok! I repeat, me and Sun are ok! Where's that mech?" Neptune asked.

"It's destroyed." Gray stressed. The two boys looked down in defeat.

"Oh."

"Don't worry, Neptune. We really…" Weiss snickered. "Shattered they're hopes and dreams. Right? Guys? Come on that was funny!"

"And, I'm dead." Rhys then laid lifeless in front of Weiss causing her to blush.

"You jerk!"


	12. A 'Cooldown' Period

No-one could beat Pyrrha Nikos. That was a clear and obvious answer.

Currently JNPR, GRIN, and RWBY were spectating the P. She was roughing team CRDL something bad. None of them could touch her and it made quite a show. Most of the group of friends were paying attention to the fight but others were more focused on social activities. Rhys and Jaune for example. Both of them had they're eyes set on a resident Schnee, one more nervous than the other. Rhys wasn't terrified to ask Weiss but, he was curious about her response.

Others were confident about their choices. Gray and Ruby, speaking of the two, Gray had his arm around the younger as she rested on his shoulder. A disgusting public display of affection. Those two were for sure going together. Yang decided to go solo, she was fine without a man anyways. Plus, she managed to get Nia and Iris to save a dance for her. Speaking of the goofballs, the confusing couple were going together as well.

All that was left was Blake, Neptune, Sun, Rhys, Jaune, and Pyrrha.

Blake… wasn't doing go well. After her run-in with KING along with Roman, she's been hell bent on stopping them, so much as to not eat and sleep. Everyone was worried for her wellbeing, beside herself. She couldn't even stay up to watch Pyrrha. Iris lightly tapped the Faunus causing her to jolt awake. "Blake? Are you ok?" Nia leaned to see the Faunus, the blonde worrying for her too.

"I'm fine." Blake mumbled annoyed. Nia glanced at her brunette counterpart and shrugged. The two the returned to Pyrrha's fight or the end of it. She really smashed team CRDL.

"Well, it looks like we have time for another match. Hmm, Miss May? You weren't really paying attention to Miss Nikos' fight, so surely that means that you think you could do better correct?" Nia quickly shook her head with a light blush of embarrassment.

"Ooh! What about me?" A slightly bored voice rang out.

"Mr. Black? Well, sure. Who would you like to spar with?" The boy glanced back and saw Katherine wink at him before tilting her head in Gray's direction.

"I'll fight… him." The gray-haired boy pointed in Gray's direction causing the latter to raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"Me?"

"Yup." Gray shrugged and removed his arm from his one arm hug for Ruby and went to go grab his weapon.

"So Mercury is on your team?" Ruby questioned as she turned around smiling to Catalina.

"Uh-huh, Gray's your boyfriend right?" The blonde smiled seeing the little girl blush faintly.

"Y-yeah. He is. H-how'd you know?" Catalina giggled to herself.

"Well, it's pretty easy to realize when he has his arm around you." Ruby laughed nervously before returning to her normal position seeing Gray and Mercury. Both had a look of a extremely high ego.

"Don't go easy on me you hear?"

"Whatever you say!" Gray snickered before getting into a stance, his weapon held firmly in front of him. Mercury glared at the boy, slightly ignoring Goodwitch's countdown. As soon as the woman started the two rushed each other.

Gray lunged towards the gray-haired boy before throwing his blade into the ground, however Mercury leaped over the boy, toying with him. The boy's adversary flipped the blade, digging it out of the floor and faced it up wards. Gray turned on his heel before pressing both triggers seeing weapon form and extend. The now scythe-like weapon was in between Mercury's legs and with that the weapons owner snickered. Gray yanked his weapon toward him, pulling Mercury along due to the blade. After pulling, Gray used the momentum from it to spin around, pulling another trigger to collapse the blade and make the scythe, into an axe. As the transformation finished, Gray slammed the axe into Mercury with unexpected strength, a loud smash rang out filling everyone's eardrums with a clang.

Multiple people recoiled at the hard attack, feeling Mercury's pain. Ruby glanced back to Catalina, the latter staring back at her. "That sounded harsh."

"Yeah. I never saw that before. Gray's full of weird surprises." Catalina smiled faintly before returning to her 'personal' study of Gray.

Mercury slid back but quickly recovered before studying Gray, noticing that the boy had one tooth that was a little too sharp. His eye had a devoid look of anger and occasionally nothing. 'Gotcha, you're not who you say you are.' As Gray rushed Mercury again, Mercury exited his fighting stance. "I give up." Snapping out of his combat trance, Gray slowly stopped staring at the gray-haired boy.

"You give up? You didn't attack once?" As Gray spoke Mercury saw a few more sharpened teeth.

"Yup. I don't think I'm ready to fight you." Gray shrugged and collapsed his weapon again.

"Well, after that one-sided fight it appears that Mr. Gray has won. Congratulations." As she congratulated Gray the bell rang, signifying that class was over. The remains of the class stood and left the room others finding others. The three teams waited for others, noticing Blake's, once again, disappearance, and finally walked out.

"Oh! Gray! Come with me to my dorm! I need your help with something."

"Not just yet Little Rose. I'll come by later." The boy patted Ruby's head and left with his team, back to they're dorm. The little girl huffed and folded her arms annoyed but understanding.

"So… 'Little Rose', has Gray asked you to the dance yet?" The girl in question darted her eyes around the hallway trying to ignore her sister.

"Well, he um, he has…" Ruby slightly lied. Gray had asked her but she never really gave a response, she did feel guilty but she had never done this before! Ruby is as socially awkward as they can come and then she somehow gets a boyfriend, a boyfriend who just so happens to be 6'2. Great. Now she felt bad.

Although Gray is older than her, Ruby acknowledged the fact that Gray had the heart of a little puppy; full of love and can be easily heartbroken. And she never wanted that to happen. From what Nia told her he'd been through too much when he was cast out.

"Ooh! Are you two matching?" The blonde asked closing the door to her dorm. The resident Faunus sat on her bed, grabbing her scroll and looked over her notes about KING.

"I don't think so…" Ruby mumbled grabbing a chair with wheels and sitting on it. "What about you Blake? Are you taking Sun?" The Faunus stared at her leader before scoffing.

"I'm not going to worry about some dance." She said bitterly. "Honestly I expected you guys to realize the danger that KING constantly shows? And you guys are worried about a dance?"

"Blake we know that KING is an issue. And we understand that you want them behind bars. We're going to do that. But we need to rest."

"What Ruby said! Come on Blake! Take your mind off of those jerks and try to have some fun. Sun wants to go with you. Whaddya say?" Yang smiled wrapping her arms around Ruby and Weiss' neck. This could be fun and it would really help Blake's case. The Faunus didn't like sleeping when she had Katherine and her team in her mind.

"What do I say?" The golden-eyed girl didn't have time for this. "I think that this is a waste of valuable time." The girl stood and walked out of the dorm, ushering in complete silence. The silence was quickly shooed away when a loud and confident knocking rang through the door. The little leader of the group glanced at Weiss and the latter huffed. Opening the door, the heiress was greeted by Jaune of Arc! And his legendary guitar!

"WWEEEIIS~!" With one swift motion, the door was slammed. The girl sighed ignoring the blonde's pleas. "Rhys and Gray are out here…" Ruby and Weiss jumped and ripped the door open, shoving Gray out of the way. Sadly, it was only Gray and Jaune out in the hallway to Weiss' dislike.

"Gray!" Ruby yelled excitedly, tugging on the boy's arms to drag him inside.

"Weiss, do you want to go to the dance with me?" The annoyed heiress stared at him, her piercing eyes froze him on the inside. The suspense was killing him, could he really have a chance?

"No." Of course…

The universe was so cruel…

"Oh… ok…" Jaune stood up and grabbed his no longer legendary guitar and strolled back to his room. Weiss closed the door and saw Ruby, Yang, and Gray standing behind her.

"Where are you guys going?"

"Where the party is going to be held. I need Gray's help with stuff." Ruby informed her.

"Yeah, Ruby wants to watch me carry heavy things. Thinks it's hot." Ruby squealed and shoved Gray causing the latter to chuckle. "Ok! I'm sorry. Weiss don't you think you're a little hostile to Jaune."

"Please. He knows how I am by now. Besides, I have someone else in mind." Weiss voiced lowered as a small blush flashed over her face. She hoped that he wouldn't deny her.

* * *

"I don't think she'll deny you, Rhys! You two are like, perfect for each other."

"Yeah! Plus your families are like best buds so that's a plus. There won't be any awkward conversations with the parents." Rhys sighed at the bisexual girls.

"I don't know about you two."

"What? You like Weiss, what better time than the Beacon dance? It'll be romantic~" Rhys rolled his eyes.

"I'll do it tonight. But not now, Gray is helping them with the party."

"How do you know your crush is secretly longing to see you?"

"Because _dummkopf_ she's Weiss Schnee and she wants this dance to be perfect! Perfect for her and her date." Iris stared at the boy dumbly, small gears turned in her head causing her to think.

"You admit that she's perfect! How cute!" Rhys groaned. How could this girl be so… Iris-y. "Nia, what are you gonna wear to the dance?"

"A really hot dress." Nia smiled. "What about you?" She reflected the question back to its owner.

"You'll see~!"

"What is it, a tux?" Rhys snickered. Although he and Nia didn't see Iris with an annoyed look. 'Stupid boy… almost spoiling my secret…'

* * *

"I don't know, Gray what are we gonna do about Blake?" Ruby asked, holding a party popper in her hands. She sat at one of the tables lazily watching her boyfriend move stereos, with effort.

"Um! I have no," The boy placed a stereo down and huffed. "idea. But we all want her to go. If she doesn't relax she'll kill herself over this. One way or another."

Yang gasped as she threw down another stereo. "Gray do you have this under control?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I'm gonna give Blake a little history and life lesson."

"Uh-oh." Gray smiled. Yang waved the three off and ran out.

"I'm going to leave too." Ruby snapped her head up while Gray grabbed a chair and sat next to Ruby.

"What?! Why?!"

"Personal business. Nothing that concerns you. Bye." Weiss then walked out, leaving the couple all alone. Ruby sighed and hung her head, feeling Gray's hand around her. She felt rested her head on his shoulder while the boy planted his lips on her head, slightly in her hair.

"All alone again. Just how I like it." Gray said through the muffling of Ruby's hair.

"Yeah. My team is always leaving me."

"Nah, they're just going through things." The two stayed silent, Gray still kind of kissing Ruby's hair while the latter sat there with her eyes closed. "Ruby?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you going to the dance with me? You never gave me an answer." They're positions shifted, Ruby's head lightly resting on Gray's chest while he held one of her shoulders rubbing soothing circles over it.

"Yeah… I wanna go with you…"

"What? I'm sorry you have to speak up." God, Ruby loved and hated Gray for this stuff.

"I want to go with you, dummy." The boy snickered and hugged the younger, pulling her off her seat and onto his lap. The little leader buried her face in Gray's chest, smelling his familiar yet slightly foreign scent. Afterward, the two stared at each other, a mundane trial for them at this point.

The silver eyes, filled with such innocence and joy and happiness, traced over Gray's natural light-dark complexion over his hospital eye patch and the small scar she could see under it. Most would think of this as some deformity on such a face but, to her, it just made his face so much more memorable, more so than it should. The eyes danced to his smirk, made up by such tempting lips, the two orbs then glided up back to the lone void-gazing eye, content with their short exploration.

The lone black eye slowly descended down Ruby's face past her adorable eyes and over her cute nose. Her soft looking lips constantly changed, showing her want and desire. This caused the boy to smirk, sure Ruby was young but she had her moments where he thought she wasn't so innocent. But such things were moments after all. Abruptly, the eye reverted back to its original position, back to staring at the silver eyes that his own cherished.

Finally, the two cautiously pulled each other closer. Gray felt like safety. He was strong yet careful, jokingly cocky but humble, and he was brave but nervous on the inside. At least that's what Ruby could decipher. His soft lips were nice and relaxing to the little leader.

Ruby's lips were warm. Not just her lips, her body as a whole radiated this relaxing and welcoming heat, and the boy took it all in, pulling her closer. Parting his lips the boy lightly prodded Ruby's getting an adorable squeak of surprise out of her. The girl put two and two together fairly quickly and did the same meeting Gray half way. They pushed each other between mouths while moving they're hands to comfortable positions. Ruby's settled in Gray's hair and neck while the boy's stayed at Ruby's hips, occasionally going up her back and tracing large and small circles on her back.

Chills ran up her spine as Ruby lost the little incursion of tongues. She felt Gray's enter and explore the region getting soft sighs and exhales from the little leader. The large ballroom was fairly silent, safe from they're muffled sounds.

Dreadfully, the boy pulled away, getting the same reaction he had when he first kissed Ruby. Her eyes were still closed and her lips were still in the same position as they were a few seconds ago. Allowing her to breathe, Gray kissed her cheek, softly moving to her ear, which he gave a soft bite. Earning a gasp, he pulled away. "Why'd you stop?" The girl pouted. The boy giggled and kissed her forehead.

"Don't forget Ruby we're in a public ballroom. We'll need privacy for further stuff. Just think what Weiss would say."

"Nope! She'd kill the atmosphere."

"What about Blake?" The boy asked lightly pulling Ruby's cheek.

"She wouldn't really notice."

"Yang?" Ruby gave Gray a funny look before giggling.

"She'd probably say don't forget protection!"

* * *

The sun was just below the horizon, ushering an odd mix of sunlight and moonlight. Blake folded her arms and gave Yang an unpleasant yet, exhausted look. Yang had dragged her out of the library and here they were in an empty classroom. "Blake. Have I told you about my little history with Gray and Ruby?"

"No. Why does it matte-"

"Well let me tell you." Yang sighed and thought about how she would word this. "A little while ago it was just me, Ruby and Gray. The trio of mischief. And we had Ruby's mom, Summer and she was like, the best. She took Gray in when he had nowhere to go to."

"What happened to his parents." Yang glanced away.

"Complicated. But that's another story for another day. No one was closer than Ruby and Gray. A six-year-old boy and an itty-bitty four-year-old. Together, the three of us, we felt like we could take on anything. And with Summer, we felt untouchable. Summer was an amazing Huntress and the greatest cookie maker imaginable. But one day she went on a hunt and… she never came back." The Faunus easily noticed that this part was tough for Yang.

"… Uh, dad didn't take it too well he um… he kind of shut down. That was until he told Gray to get out of his sight. You see, Summer was basically a second mother to Gray and he always asked where she was. And Dad snapped he threw out Gray and that was the last me and Ruby ever saw of him. We didn't feel untouchable anymore. But I wanted that feeling back. And I know that Ruby missed Gray just as I did if not worse. So we went to go looking for him."

Blake stayed behind Yang holding onto her as she told her tale.

"I waited for dad to leave, then I put Ruby in a wagon and we were off. Ruby would cry saying 'Where are we going?' and I'd say 'we're going to find Gray' and Ruby would have this look of pure excitement." Yang laughed to herself before giving a brief frown. "But after I don't know how long Ruby want to go home. She said that Gray would want her there safe and sound… I didn't listen. We kept walking and both of us were exhausted, I walked for miles carrying a sleeping little four-year-old and then… they came. I thought that I got both me and Ruby killed but… but then uncle Qrow came. He saved us from the Grimm and took us home to our dad. But we never found Gray." Yang exhaled through her nose, informing Blake that she was done.

"Yang, what was the point in tell me this?" Blake said slightly quiet, and as polite as possible even if the word choice was a little harsh.

"The point? Don't you see a connection between now and then?"

"Yang. I'm not a child, I can handle my-"

"Yourself? Look at you! You've barely slept since we found Roman's little operation with the Atlas Paladins. You need to rest."

"What I need to do is stop Katherine."

"No!" Yang shouted. The blonde then shoved Blake lightly, the latter unable to stand and keep her balance. "Look at you! You can't even stop me from pushing you. What would happen if KING came here?"

"I'd fight them!"

"You'd die! Or get hurt just as bad as Gray is if not worse! We're lucky that only his eye was gone! He was full aware of the situation, and you, who can't even stand straight!" Yang wrapped her arms around Blake. "Just get rest, please? After the dance we'll be right on top of KING."

Blake opened her mouth to say something but a yawn took the place of any word. The girl sighed and nodded.

"Come on, let's go back to the dorm, Gray, Ruby and Weiss are taking care of the dance."

* * *

Jaune had found his confidence again! After this amazing change of events his greatest friend Pyrrha just told him to do what he should've done a while ago.

Be yourself.

Oddly, Pyrrha had this look of sadness on her face. But Jaune passed it off. With a rose in one hand and a boat load of courage in the other Jaune was ready to tell Weiss how he feels, enough 'playing it cool'.

The boy checked the ballroom but it was only Ruby and Gray being a couple. "Hey uh guys you know where Weiss is?" The two didn't respond only pointing outside. Surely he'll find her out there. And sure enough, he found the silver hair that he enjoyed to see. Following her, he was ready to tell her.

Rhys couldn't take Nia and Iris anymore. He loved them like sister but… they were certainly sisters alright. But now was the perfect time to talk to Weiss. He checked the ballroom and, with annoyance, they informed the boy she was and he made way. He was slightly nervous about asking but he wanted to ask for a while. He was mainly nervous because she was also interested in that Neptune guy. To be honest, Rhys knew that Neptune was better looking than him.

And Neptune was a better ladies man than him too.

But Rhys didn't want to focus on that. Just breathe, and relax.

Jaune hid behind a corner, ready to surprise Weiss with the rose he had. However… the universe didn't want him to be happy. "Neptune!" The happiness of her voice tore said feeling out of him. "I need to ask you something." Jaune knew what was next. Heartbroken, the poor knight dropped the rose and walked away.

Rhys walked and heard the sound of Weiss' voice, such a thing he's come to enjoy. He didn't listen to the words but just listened to the sound. As he turned the corner he saw Neptune embrace Weiss, the latter very eagerly jumping into the hug.

Something shattered in Rhys, and whatever remains of that thing were crushed like someone stepped on them.

Why did he bother trying?

All he was, was a good friend. Nothing else.

The boy scanned Weiss' face, her eyes were closed and she had a smile dancing on her lips. The boy sighed and spun around, and walked back to his dorm. He heard the satisfying crunch of something but didn't look down to check. What he didn't notice as a rose now stomped and dead because of him.

Before he disappeared from sight, Weiss opened her eyes to see the back of Rhys and she blinked. As Neptune pulled away, her train of thought quickly moved from Rhys to Neptune.

The boy arrived at his dorm and opened the door, closing it quietly. "You know we're awake right?" Iris asked but never got a response. Instead, Rhys simply sat on his bed and rubbed his face. Nia glanced at Gray, who had arrived shortly before Rhys and he shrugged. "What's up? Why are you upset."

"Iris," Gray signaled the girl to walk over to him, Nia joining them. Outside the window they were looking through, the trio saw what made Rhys so down. Weiss was waking with Neptune, the duo smiling.

"Oh… Rhys…" Iris and Nia ran to him and hugged the boy rubbing his back. "We're so sorry."

" _Ich brauche sie nicht_. I'll go anyways."

"That's great Rhys. Don't worry about her. Just have fun anyways. I know we will. Heck you could be both me and Nia's date!" Rhys smiled just barely, a muscle barely twitching. Maybe things won't be so bad.

* * *

Everything was ready. Everyone was going, date or no date. This night was to have fun and be to be themselves.

"Just a little longer Gray!" Ruby yelled through the door. She was excited, that much was true but she was also a little nervous. This was her first dance and to make things worse, she had a date.

She couldn't say that. Gray didn't make things worse, he helped her through a lot already, and they're barely in the school year! Speaking of the boy she didn't want to keep him waiting anymore. Taking a quick glance at herself, she smiles seeing her dress was nice and not wrinkled and her makeup was okay. Gray liked it before, hopefully he'll like it again.

The girl opened and closed the door to her dorm before turning around, smiling a wide and happy smile when she saw Gray.

The boy wore a suit that was sharp but simple. The color scheme was a simple, open dark smoky gray jacket with a white button-up shirt and black pants. The boy adjusted his jacket as he waited. He didn't change the style of his hair whatsoever, deciding that his unkempt hair helped. The boy turned around and grinned seeing Ruby all dressed up and adorable looking. "Ruby, you look great!" The boy ran up to her and embraced her, kissing the little leader on her forehead.

"Thanks…" She said shyly, throwing her arms around Gray and standing on her toes. She planted a kiss on his cheek and pulled away, grasping the boy's arm and resting her head on his shoulder. Gray smiled and began to walk Ruby to the dance, albeit slowly. Ruby was never a fan of high heels and they were a tough challenge now.

After a few minutes, the leader duo walked in and instantly found Yang who quickly walked over to greet them. "Oh my god. The famous Leader Couple! Aww, my little Ruby is all grown up!" Gray smiled and patted Ruby's head, who groaned in slight annoyance.

"I'd say, she's beautiful, Yang." The little leader blushed a deep crimson while her sister laughed along with Gray.

"Come one let's go Gray. Yang still has to greet people." Ruby tugged on Gray's arm while continuing to keep balance with these 'ankle breakers'. The thing is, the high heels didn't even make her taller really!

"And what are we gonna do? Dance? Or sit around awkwardly?" The boy joked. Sure the latter was most likely bound to happen but, he wanted to get Ruby out on the dance floor eventually.

"Ugh, don't be like that!" Ruby pouted. The boy glanced at Yang and the two shrugged. As Gray gave up, the trio heard a familiar voice.

"Don't go in without us!"

"The real party has started!"

Iris and Nia.

The two walked in, Nia clinging to Iris and the two had smiles on they're faces. Nia still had her hair in a ponytail but she now had a bang slightly covering her right eye. Her dress was strapless and it, to be honest, showed off her bust. Gray resisted the urge to yell at her to change. The upper body half clung to her nicely, with a nearly black shade of red, and the lower half was frilly, a similar color.

Next to the blonde was Iris and… she didn't have a dress. She had a tux! Midnight black and all, along with a rose. To everyone, this made Iris more sophisticated but… this is Iris after all. "Hiya!" Nia waved, a faint blush on her face.

"Gray! I'm so glad you could make it!" Iris then grabbed Gray's hand and shook it, earning a few giggles from the girls. "Ah, and I see you brought the missus! Ruby!" The goofy brunette grabbed the little leader's hand and kissed it. Ruby glanced at her boyfriend and gave him a 'please help me look.'

"Hey! You can only do that to me!" Nia protested folding her arms. Iris rolled her eyes and grabbed Nia's chin before pulling her into a soft kiss. The latter widened her eyes as her face was covered in a crimson so bad that it rivaled her accents.

"Is that better?" Softly Nia responded with a faint 'yeah'. "Good! Now let's head in right?" However, the five stood a second longer and noticed something that upset them all.

Coming from the entrance, was Weiss and Neptune. Altogether, the five frowned, Gray, Nia, and Iris even more so. Weiss noticed the five and led Neptune over. "Hello, everybody. Iris, you look… nice in a tux."

"Thanks." Iris mumbled. Rhys was her best bud, and Weiss just threw him away? Ugh, it annoyed her.

"Hey Gray, you look nice this evening." Neptune smiled offering Gray a handshake, which the boy accepted… reluctantly.

"Thanks, Neptune, so do you." With that Weiss and Neptune walked towards the rest of the ballroom, with red and warm brown eyes trailed them.

"I feel bad for Rhys." Yang frowned as Ruby nodded.

"Same." Two voices said in sync. Such voices belonged to Blake and Sun. "Neptune's my boy but, I'll be honest and say that Weiss should've gone with Rhys. They just have a better um… Blake, what's the word?"

"Dynamic?"

"Yeah, that." Everyone nodded and began to walk to the rest of the dance, wanting to enjoy themselves instead of feeling down. Everyone split up, Ruby and Gray went to hide at the punch bowl, a tactic that Ruby loved. Nia and Iris went to the dance floor, Blake and Sun right behind them. The blonde and brunette starting dancing but soon found that the music wasn't living up to their taste.

"Hey, Gray?" Ruby asked, while one hand held a punch cup and another held Gray's arm which was around her neck caringly.

"Yeah?" He asked moving side to side with the music.

"Do you know where Rhys is?" The boy shook his head and the younger frowned. "I hope he didn't ditch."

"Nah, Rhys wouldn't do that, he's probably running fashionably late. You know cheesy stuff." The girl giggled and continued to watch the others dance.

"I see you two are using the 'hide by the punch bowl' technique." Jaune spoke as he grabbed a cup.

"Yep. But I have Gray here so I have nothing to worry about." The little leader explained, taking a sip from her cup.

"Cheers to the socially awkward." Jaune and Ruby clinked their cups together as Gray chuckled.

"Sorry things didn't work out too well with Weiss, Jaune." Ruby apologize, holding her cup for Gray to drink from.

"Eh, it's fine. I mean Neptune's pretty cool, he had a better chance then me anyways. I'll get over it." Gray and Ruby looked at each other, both having the same thought process. Rhys. "Speaking of him, where is he?" The trio darted their eyes around the room, scanning for the blue-haired boy.

"No clue." The couple said in sync. Jaune's eyes narrowed.

"Hold. My. Punch." He gave his cup to Ruby and walked off. As he left the couple grabbed opposite cups and took sips from them.

"Wait… did you just drink from Jaune's cup?" Ruby glanced around innocently with a blush on her face.

"Nooo…?" Gray laughed and planted a kiss on the back of Ruby's head.

"You're so cute." He complimented, earning another blush of embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Jaune walked across the room until he saw the familiar neon blue hair, he then pursued him, that was until he saw Pyrrha walk by in front of him. _'I'll talk to_ _her_ _later'_.

After a minute of pursuing the blonde boy found Neptune out on a balcony staring at the moon. "Neptune." He called out. The boy jumped and turned around.

"Oh, you scared me there for a minute. Jaune? Right? This party is pretty lame, right? Sixteen-year-olds and seventeen-year-olds ballroom dancing? Eh, well the girl's are pretty cute right?"

"Why aren't you with Weiss?" Jaune growled but controlled his temper.

"Weiss? Things didn't work out is al-"

"Things didn't work out in the middle of the dance? Come on Neptune. I know you're cool and all but don't lie, that isn't cool." Jaune folded his arms. "I mean, Weiss Schnee asked you out and why?"

"I can't dance…" Neptune rushed out.

"Wh-what?"

"I can't dance!" Jaune tried to hold himself together. Neptune couldn't dance?!

"So, you left Weiss because you couldn't do the two-step?" Neptune nodded defeatedly. Jaune sighed and patted the blue-haired boy's shoulder. "Look, I'm sure she doesn't care about that. You both like each other so, Neptune, just go up to her and talk to her. That's all she wants, you'll probably make her night." Neptune stared at the boy before hugging him, picking Jaune up.

"Thanks Jaune. Your pretty cool." Jaune scoffed and shooed Neptune off. After the boy was gone Jaune took his place on the balcony.

"So, you don't have a date too, _ja_?" Huh, that familiar German accent.

"Rhys?" The blonde turned around to see the brown-haired boy with whitening hair.

" _Ja_ , I don't have a date either. Denied." The boy leaned on the railing of the balcony while holding a cup of punch. "Why did I think I had a chance? _Dummkopf_." Who the hell would deny Rhys freaking Müller?!

"Wh-who denied you?" The boy chuckled dryly, taking a sip from his drink.

"Why, Weiss Schnee of course." _'What?!'_ Jaune groaned and slapped himself.

He'd just ruined Rhys' night and probably his love life. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"I'm so dumb!"

"Why? What happened?" The boy stared at Jaune and it only made him more guilty.

"I-I might have sent up Neptune and Weiss to be a couple now." Rhys sighed and laughed.

" _Nun, fick_. How'd you do that?"

"Neptune ditched Weiss because he couldn't dance and I talked to him to go speak with her. Rhys I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's not your fault, _freund_. I didn't stand a chance anyways. Come on let's go to the dance floor, distract ourselves from this depressing stuff.

"Yeah ok."

* * *

This plan was genius. Foolproof! Jaune had sent the two a message for this 'foolproof' assignment. Mainly because he knew that they'd take the challenge.

Nia and Iris walked to the 'dj' and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hmm?" The 'dj' was fairly nerdy and seeing these two girls in front of him was surely something from one of his 'hentais' or whatever you call them.

"Hiya, um, can we use this please? I really want to try it and put on a song for our friend. Pleeaasse?" Nia asked using her 'feminine traits' to her advantage. Iris resisted the urge to slap her silly, only Nia could do that to her, damn it! The boy stared directly into Nia's chest and nodded walking off. "Sweet! Thanks was too easy!" Nia then grabbed a random pair of headphones and wrapped it around her neck as Iris grabbed a similar pair and put one ear on and another out. Now they just had to wait for the right moment.

"Hey Ruby?"

"Hmm?"

"What's Nia and Iris doing up where the Dj is supposed to be?" Ruby giggled.

"Uh-oh. This will be good."

Pyrrha, stood alone on the dance floor awkwardly moving to the music. She then began to hear laughter behind her and turned around. In front of her stood Jaune wearing…

A dress?!

"Wha-"

"Hey… this was more comfortable." Pyrrha couldn't contain herself. She began to laugh, not even that laugh hysterically.

"Jaune… what?" The boy held his hand out.

"I'll explain while we dance." Pyrrha gave the boy her hand the and the boy nodded to the dj stand. Nia and Iris gave a thumbs up and change the genre of music to boring classical music…

To club music!

Jaune dragged Pyrrha to the dance floor and Ren and Nora caught up to them. JNPR, danced along with a music, a crowd of students giving them space to do this dance number. The couple say the dance routine going on and snickered, tempted to go out there. "Hallo, Gray, Ruby." Gray grinned more and glanced down to Ruby to see her looked right back at him.

"Go on, cheer him up. I'll give awesome thumbs up's." Gray kissed her forehead before dragging Rhys to the dance floor.

"Nia! I got an idea! Play this song!" Iris whispered the song into her date's ear and Nia rolled her eyes.

"What? That song is played in every party ever!"

"Just do it!" Nia giggled and kissed Iris' cheek. "No romantics! I needs da music!" Nia began to change the song, stopping team JNPR's dance routine. The team turned to see Rhys and Gray in the middle of a crowd. The first part of the lyrics made them realize what the two were about to do.

 _"Walked in this party and these girls…"_

Rhys and Gray grinned and went through the motions of the song.

Meanwhile, Neptune sat down next to Weiss and the girl smiled, Rhys saw this but ignored it, to busy running his hands up to his hair. "So, what made you come back?"

"What do you mean?"

"What made you come back to me?" Neptune pointed in Jaune's direction, the boy having his scroll out and recording Rhys and Gray. The girl then glanced at the two as they danced. Rhys looked so happy, like he didn't even notice she was there. Something inside her ached slightly and she didn't know why.

Ruby placed her cup down and danced along to the song, in the corner and next to the punch bowl… alone. However, Yang walked over to her and giggled. "Gray's pretty cool. Helping his friend like that."

"Yep." Ruby smiled. "But he left me!" Ruby fake pouted.

"What?! He's a dead man!" Yang stomped to where the two dancers were but Ruby did her best to stop her sister.

"Yang it was a joke I let him do it!" Darn these high heels! They had no grip!

The dance finished and Gray soon walked off back to the punch bowl, where he was bopped on the head for abandoning Ruby. Rhys smiled and stepped out of the ballroom and onto the balcony, just as Nia and Iris changed the song to a slow one. "Everyone's occupied, now the time."

" _Oh! Do I hear a slow dance song?! Damn it, stupid job, making me miss a slow dance song with Cinder._ "

"Katherine, focus. You know where to go right?" Cinder sighed. This woman certainly was a trial.

" _Yeah yeah I know_." The woman ran along roofs using her grappling hooks to move faster.

Rhys caught his breath outside, he had heard that anthem plenty of times but he never dance, the boy didn't really care if he embarrassed himself, he had fun damn it. The boy looked over the vast campus and noticed something strange. A person running along buildings and using a grappling hook. There was only one person that had grappling hook-esque things.

Katherine Rani.

She was heading to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit System Tower. " _Scheisse_ …" The boy walked out of the party and made way to the tower.

Damn… she took out the security fairly quickly. The boy grabbed his scroll and called for his weapons. His locker fired out of Beacon and landed just in front of him. Opening it, he retrieved his orbs and activated them, the orbs quickly began to hover around his neck. The boy walked inside and noticed that every guard was hurt and unconscious. At least Katherine had a heart, probably a small one.

He entered the elevator and quickly ascended the tower.

Katherine thought that this was too easy, unnecessarily to easy. " _Kath, someone's leaving._ "

"Who?" She asked. She head a faint curse of anger. Cinder sounded adorable when she cursed.

" _Ironwood. Hurry up. I don't want to break you out again._ " Katherine mocked the woman as she finished up.

"Done. And without issu-" A ding sound of the elevator made her curse. "Damn it." The doors opened to reveal Rhys.

"Ok, Katherine. Come on out."

"Aw! I had this cool mask and everything! How'd you know?!" Katherine whined. Rhys snickered.

"Easy, you are the only person I know that has grappling hooks."

"Oh I'm so flattered!" Katherine threw a fist and the hook shot out, only to be deflected by an orb. Orbs flew at her direction and she elegantly dodged them, noticing that others were forming out of nowhere. "That's cheating!"

"All fair in love and war."

"Does that mean you love me?" She said shocked. Rhys rolled his eyes and continued his attacks, the once few and precise strikes have now become a swarm of orbs of destruction. "Ok, lover boy, it's been fun but, I really have to go."

"So soon?" Rhys frowned, but the frown soon became a snicker when the elevator dinged again. He looked back to see… Ironwood. Strange. Glancing back to Katherine… wait, she's gone. " _Scheisse_!" Rhys cursed.

"Rhys. Come with me." The general ordered. The boy sighed but complied.

So much for ending the night on a high note.

* * *

Gray led Ruby to one of the balconies, starting to get a headache from the loud music. "Gray, you were incredible out there!"

"Thanks Ruby." The boy patted her head and the younger giggled. "You look cute with high heels."

"I hate these things." Gray laughed and stared into her eyes, hand on her waist. The two rested their heads against each other. Ruby's lips were so red and… tempting, her eyes still adorable, just like her. "Gray… I um…" The girl looked down nervous.

"What's the matter Little Rose?" He voice set her nervousness at ease.

"I… I want to say that. You're the best, greatest friend I could ever have and you're the best boyfriend." Gray grinned and pulled the younger into a kiss, the latter was surprised but leaned into it. They held onto the kiss for what seemed like a eternity before pulling away, gasping for air.

"Ruby…" Gray boy pulled the younger into a tight and warm hug. "I love you too." He chuckled. The girl nuzzled her head into his chest, smiling to herself.

"Yeah, same." The two stayed quiet, Ruby listening to Gray's heartbeat. Back in the dance Yang smiled at the two.

"They're so cute together." Nia and Iris joined her and nodded.

"Yep. The Leader Couple." Nia and Iris said simultaneously.


	13. Humanity' Revealed

"She was here!" A shout and an audible bang echoed through Ozpin's office. Kathrine Rani was here, in Beacon.

"Yes, Ironwood we're well aware of that." Glynda spoke. All the while Oz rubbed his face still shocked on how such a terrorist managed to sneak into Beacon right, under, they're noses.

"Why would she be here? What did she do last night?" Ironwood thought out loud.

"James, you're coming up with more questions than answers." Across the office, the elevator beeped and the three Hunters stared at the doors.

"Sorry for the wait." Rhys apologized stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Mr. Müller. Thank you for you time." Ozpin said with a low smile.

"Anytime sir. So I'm here to discuss what I saw?" Goodwitch nodded.

"Before we get to that," Ironwood raised his hand stopping Goodwitch before she continued. "I want to say you did an excellent job last night Rhys. You saw a threat and pursued it. Just what a Hunter would do. Your father would be proud." Ironwood stared into Rhys' cold eyes, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Rhys nodded, trying to get the strong hand off his shoulder in a respectful manner.

"Now Mr. Müller, when did you see her? Can you describe her outfit?" Rhys looked down to the floor, thinking.

"I saw her as I walked out of the party to get some air. Also she was covered in her usual outfit with a White Fang mask. But I looked 'custom', mostly because it looked like a poorly drawn fox." The trio of older hunters nodded, a thing that they would expect from the criminal/terrorist.

"Anything else? Did you see anything that she might have done? Or perhaps where she ran off?" Ozpin asked patience clearly in his voice. Rhys slightly shook his head.

"No, all I saw was a few of the terminals screens turn off. Kathrine was hiding behind one of the terminals too. As for where she left off, I have no clue. I was distracted with General Ironwood." Rhys confessed all he knew which wasn't much. "That's everything." Ozpin nodded and rose from his seat and walked passed Ironwood.

"I appreciate you time, Mr. Müller. You can return to your dorm." Rhys nodded and say is goodbyes to the other inhabitants of the room before turning for the elevator. "Oh, and Rhys." Ozpin spoke up.

"Yes, sir?" The boy asked.

"Keep an eye on Gray will you?" Rhys smiled,

"I've never taken an eye off of him." With that Rhys left, leaving the hunters to themselves.

"Gray? Is this the child of Mason and Delilah?" Ozpin nodded and moved back to his chair. "What do you think? Is he stable?"

"We've had an issue not too long ago but we handled it." Ironwood narrowed his eyes and immediately Goodwitch caught on.

"James, I know what your thinking but we have this under control."

"Do you? We thought the same thing for Mason and Delilah and look what happene-"

"Enough!" Ozpin snapped standing up. "We have him under control, we've learned from our mistakes and the present will not repeat the past, understood? He will not be harmed." Ironwood turned away from the two hunters, turning away from the desk that they were gathered around. Staring out the window, Ironwood watched students walk around the school.

"If you believe that I'm going to try something, Oz, then you don't know me as well as I thought you would. I trust that this boy will be fine." Ozpin nodded and Glynda exhaled.

"Now, can we focus on the task at hand? We have a terrorist on our hands." Goodwitch huffed, folding her arms.

"Yes, onto more pressing matters."

"Gray, you think I can have a hoodie?" Ruby asked as she went through a few clothes her boyfriend had. Avoiding anything she shouldn't see, and staying a ways away from Nia and Iris' stuff.

"Why not just a shirt?" Ruby spun on her heel and folded her arms having a small pout on her face, as always it was a adorable sight for the boy. He chuckled quietly, stretching in his bed.

"Because, have you ever seen me wear a normal shirt?" Gray sat up on his bed and pretended to think, rubbing his chin. "Oh ha ha, jerk." The boy laughed and stood up and approached his little flower.

"You can have one if you tell me why you want one." He snickered, brushing hair out of the little leader's face.

"Well, would you believe me if I said I really wanted one?" The boy smiled and raised the younger's chin with a thumb while his other hand rested on her waist.

"I'd believe anything you'd say." Ruby's cheeks flushed as she smiled softly. Ruby stood on her toes and pecked Gray on the cheek. The boy planted a kiss on her forehead, making her giggle. He then peppered her with more going to her face and to her neck, Ruby stood there awkwardly hands resting on Gray's shoulders, occasionally tightening up. The boy nibbled on Ruby's neck causing her to sigh. "I love you, Ruby." The boy pecked her forehead and slightly pulled away. "So, which hoodie do you want?" Ruby sprang up and grabbed the one she wanted.

"This!" She squealed. The hoodie was a basic all black throw over, Gray was surprised that she picked that one.

"That one? That one sucks." Ruby blew a raspberry and slapped him with the sleeve of the hoodie.

"You suck." The boy pouted and shrugged.

"If that's how you feel."

"No!" The boy chuckled and stared at the hoodie Ruby was holding out.

"So you want that okay, but it will cost you fifteen bucks, missy." Ruby smirked and pulled the boy down into a kiss, an unexpected one at that. She then pulled away, a snicker on her face.

"Will that do?" Gray grinned and nodded patting Ruby's head.

"Of course. Go on try it on." Ruby smiled and threw the hoodie on. The article swiftly fell down her body, the hood staying in her head. The hoodie almost looked 'ok'. It looked a little bit large on the little leader around the body but the arms were a whole other issue.

"So warm…" Ruby moaned. The hoodie had exactly what she expected it to have. She grabbed the hood and sniffed it inhaling Gray's scent. "Thanks Gray. The sleeves are a little bit of a issue though." Ruby extended her arms, barely showing that her fingers. "It may be big, but I love it!" Ruby jumped into the boy hugging him, all the while Gray returned the embrace and ruffled her hair.

Abruptly, Ruby's scroll vibrated and she opened it, complying with Gray's dragging. The girl felt his arms wrap around her, making the oversized hoodie scrunched, she forced down a small blush coming on when Gray rested on her shoulder. "Who's that?" He asked.

"Wait a minute, Yang sent a picture of something. Oh my god…"

"What? Ruby?"

"Mail!" The little leader grabbed her boyfriend hand, dragging out of his dorm and into the hall.

"Never seen you be this excited." The boy yawned.

"It's mail from my dad!"

"Oh. Good." The little leader busted into her dorm startling her team.

"At least knock!" Weiss huffed.

"Mail!" Ruby yelled, ignoring her partner. Weiss sighed and glanced towards her leader's boyfriend.

"How do you deal with her, Gray?" The boy folded his arms and leaned on the all-female team's desk.

"First you have to grow up with her. Then fall in love with her." Weiss rolled her eyes and continued to message Neptune. Gray decided to simply ignore the whole ordeal and focus on something more important in his eye.

"Yang what is it?" Ruby asked, the hood of the hoodie bounced with almost every movement.

"I dunno, I waited for you."

"I'm here now! Open it!" Yang grabbed the 'mail', the mail being a small cylinder and unscrewed the cap. The inhabitants watched with interest as another cylinder slid out of the container, this cylinder being furry and breathing oddly enough. The small furry object then jumped up, showing small legs, a tail and an adorable head. Ruby gasped when she realized who it was. "Zwei!" Ruby scooped the corgi up hugging it, giggling. "What are you doing in that small container?"

"'Hey girls," Yang said, reading off of the piece of paper. "I'm going to be on a mission for a while so I left you with Zwei.'"

"How are you guys going to feed him?" Gray asked. He grabbed the container for Zwei and looked inside it. Suddenly, can after can after can of food fell out of the small container, all of which pelted Gray. "Ok! I found out how, ow!" He groaned.

"You're telling me that this mangy, mutt, this small ball of…" Weiss leaned into Zwei's face, seeing it pant and look at her happily. "Of… of fun, is staying with us?! Oh, yes you are! Ruby can I hold him?!" Ruby, although confused by the random change of behavior, obliged and gave the small corgi to Weiss.

"I don't care what you do with that dog, but keep it away from my side." Blake basically begged, from across the room. As soon as the Faunus smelled that mutt she ran to the farthest corner.

"Make sure you keep Zwei away from my room. Iris has a… problem when it comes to animals." The boy shivered, remembering when they were kids, she was uncontrollable. Ruby shivered in slight fear as well, Iris was odd enough, but with animals? Could be a nightmare. Abruptly there was a knock on the door and Gray jumped. "Oh god, too late." Yang rolled her eyes and opened the door. But the blonde was quick plowed over by a frantic Iris.

"Where's the dog?!" The brunette's eye's scanned the room until she saw Weiss holding onto Zwei for dear life. "Pupper!" Iris basically tackled Weiss, causing the latter to squeal in terror. "Gimme it!" Iris commanded. In the hallway, Nia peeked in seeing the odd sight of Weiss on the floor hiding a dog and Iris trying to grab said dog.

"Nia? How'd she find out?" Ruby asked adjusting her new piece of clothing.

"Iris managed to adopt the ability to sense animals anywhere within a two mile radius. I'm starting to think that's her Semblance." Nia explained, trying to speak over the unintelligible screaming between Weiss and Iris.

"Huh." The two teams watched the brunette and platinum blonde battle of Zwei while Blake sneaked away from the doggo.

"Nia! Get your girlfriend off of me! Iris! He's mine, back off!"

"Nah, last time I did that it didn't end well." Nia shook her head and grabbed her scroll, recording the two.

And out of the indescribable gibberish, Professor Goodwitch spoke through Weiss' pleas. "Would students report to the auditorium. I repeat, would all students report to the auditorium." An audible 'aww' came from the crazed brunette. She sat up and got off of the heiress before grabbing Nia.

"We'll see you guys there, gotta find Rhysie." The brunette then shoved the blonde out of the room while Weiss cleared her throat.

"Well, after that attack, let's head to the auditorium shall we?" Weiss placed Zwei on the floor, which he sat on panting. "I'll see you when I get back my wittle ball of fun!" Weiss walked out of the room, Blake quickly behind her. Gray, Ruby and Yang stared at each other before shrugging. Yang left leaving the couple.

"What are you gonna do about him?" Gray asked. Ruby stared at the adorable dog before smiling. "Oh no."

"Oh yes Gray." The boy threw the little leader's hood over her head, the oversized hood stretched over and nearly covered her eyes.

"Your such an adorable dork."

Gray and Ruby caught up with they're friends. The little leader had a small addition, a trademark Beacon backpack. "Put him over there." Gray pointed to a pile of bags, varying colors of their respective schools.

"Duh." Ruby smiled. She gave a low squeak as Gray lightly shoved her forward. After she placed her bag she joined her team, smiling as she noticed JNPR behind them and GRIN beside. The little leader glanced around the large room seeing various schools bundled together. Not long after she got into position, Ozpin entered, clearing his throat.

The headmaster explained why the various students had been called. "Students. Atlas, Vacuo, Mistral, Vale. Over the course of you education, you have formed bonds. Bonds that could last a lifetime. Some of the people next to you will be your greatest ally, your closest friend, your bridesmaid, you best man, even your husband." Ruby looked to her left, seeing Gray 'wink' at her. "These bonds bring trust, and trust brings expectation. Hence why I have called you all here. Each of you will be shadowing a Hunter, whether your clearing out forests or patrolling the city, you will be examined for your trust in you team. A Hunter team should never argue with each other, never hate one another, and most certainly, one must never feel alone." After his speech, Ozpin walked off stage and the various students walked to each kiosk looking over their choices.

"So, what are y'all gonna pick?" Iris asked team RWBY. A majority of the team shrugged while Weiss sighed in annoyance.

"Let's pick Search and Destroy, dimwits." Nia smiled and jumped with enthusiasm.

"Ooh, ooh! We could do it too! Maybe we could get the same Hunter!" Weiss stared at her with both confusion and pity.

"No, that's not possible."

"Well, maybe it is?" Nia blinked.

"How are you so positive?" Rhys shook her head.

"You don't wanna know, it would take a year to explain." The eight walk to a kiosk and looked for a open spot. "There's one, in the remains of Mt. Glenn." Ruby nodded and inputted her team's name. The kiosk glowed red and text showed up saying that the team wasn't allowed for such a task.

"Aww, darn." Ruby pouted, feeling Gray pat her head to calm her.

"Team RWBY and GRIN." Ozpin greeted abruptly startling a few of the members. "'Search and Destory?' A challenge indeed, do all of you think that you're capable of handling such a task?" Nia and Iris shouted in unison agreeing that they could handle the challenge.

"Nia, Iris, leave team RWBY to handle this, we'll get something else." Rhys sighed.

"What?! No! What about our plan?!" Iris complained the sight was pretty funny Iris looked like a teenager arguing with her father.

"That was impossible, now let's go." Rhys shoved the girl away, Nia behind her.

"Nia! Help me!"

"Nia knows when to listen to reason, you don't!" The arguing grew distant and Gray smiled at his team.

"Well, I gotta find something to do. I see you in a minute, Ruby." Gray flipped her hood over her head and waved goodbye to the rest of the team and Ozpin.

"Interesting group of friends. Now, I'm sure you four will find a way to bypass whatever I have setup. So instead of waiting for that to happen, how about we just let this slide?" Ozpin activated his little tablet and pressed a few buttons and the kiosk chirped registering RWBY as candidates. Ruby grinned at Ozpin.

"Thank you, headmaster. We'll do our very best."

"That is what I hope. Good day ladies." Ozpin then left them, glancing at each team's selections.

"Let's see GRIN." The four walked over to the team to see Iris jumping up and down with excitement, Nia leaning on Gray's shoulder and Rhys standing in the back, adjusting his clothing. "Hey, guys, what'd you pick?" Gray sighed in relief and turned around grinning.

"Good Ol' patrolling."

"What?!" Ruby frowned.

"Yeah! We get to beat up baddies! How awesome is that?!" Iris beamed, grabbing the members of RWBY and rocked them back and forth quickly before telling everyone her plans.

"Y-yeah, sure," Weiss said panicked, fixing a few wrinkles in her clothing, turned to Rhys. "She's crazy huh?" She asked, smiling. Rhys stared at her smile, the gesture was genuine but he didn't want to look at it.

"Yeah." He answered quickly and coldly, barely someone could detect malice in there.

"Oh." Weiss said taken back by the response, usually Rhys started conversation but Weiss was stuck, he seemed uninterested. The girl stared at her feet, why was she so nervous? She was never like this around Neptune. "Um, well are you excited to be shadowing a H-"

"Yeah." Another cold response.

"Oh, um okay then." She felt so embarrassed like she just humiliated herself. Weiss tried to focus on something else besides Rhys.

"Guys! Let's go see our Hunters! This would be our last thing we do together for a week so…" Nia offered. A majority of the group nodded, walking to the Airship docks. However Ruby and Gray stayed behind, needing to grab the latter's bag.

"So, who do you think your Hunter will be?"

"I hope their soo cool! With crazy weapons and nice and super cool."

* * *

"Uncool. Really, uncool." Ruby frowned. Her team stared at their Hunter, while GRIN laughed.

"Who's ready to go on an expedition!" Professor Oobleck asked.

"Gray, our Hunter is over there. Let's go!" Nia and Iris said, in different tones. Gray held Ruby by her arms softly.

"I'll miss you, Ruby, be safe." Gray asked, staring into Ruby's face like a dog staring into its owner.

"I'll miss you too, take care, Gray." The girl stood on her toes and Gray pulled her into a short kiss, both wishing it could last a little long. Afterward, Gray pulled away, kissed her forehead and rushed off.

"After that PDA, let's get on with our mission." Oobleck added, annoying Ruby slightly but she let it slide this time. Her team and Oobleck jumped on a small Bullhead, their escort to Mt. Glenn. The Bullhead began to take off and RWBY saw their friends get smaller and smaller in size before the Bullhead leaned forward and their destination ways underway.

"So, Professor O-"

"Doctor." Oobleck interrupted. "Please continue." Weiss blinked a few times before continuing.

"Doctor, Oobleck. How long have you been a Hunter, it's just I never expected you would be a Hunter."

"I'll answer both of your questions Miss Schnee. Although I may not seem like the type to be a Hunter I'll let you know I am familiar with such violent things that you are used to." The man took a sip from his thermos before going on. "I'm a history man after all."

"What's history have to do with thi-"

"Miss Schnee, you are an intelligent woman. History effects everything and anything. But History as it own is right where we're headed."

"Mt. Glenn?" Blake asked, keeping her balance during the flight.

"Correct Miss Belladonna. Mt. Glenn was one of humanity's greatest failures."

"It started as an expansion of Vale. But Grimm constantly attacked it until it was overrun and Vale sectioned it off." Yang explained.

"Yes, a tragic event no matter what. The city was destroyed. But! All of a sudden there's been a significant increase in Grimm activity, and it's up to us to investigate it. Whether or not humans are associate or not we must put a stop to it."

After a few minutes of waiting, the Bullhead slowly descended and opened its side doors. The team jumped out and waited for their Hunter to exit before watching the Bullhead leave, the ship slowly fading away by the wrecked buildings. Yang scanned the area now seeing how bad the city was devastated. "Wow."

"Precisely, Miss Xiao Long. Now, this isn't just the basic Grimm extermination, we have to investigate why the increase came to be so famous for Grimm activity." Ruby nodded in understanding and turned to get to work, only for Oobleck to zip in front of her. "Miss Rose, why do you have a bag with you?" A bark answered before Ruby and Oobleck stared into Ruby's eyes, as couldn't see his, only his glasses.

Zwei then popped out of her bag, his little legs tugging on her hood. "Zwei, get back in the bag and you'll get treats later." The little leader 'whispered'. The corgi barked before hiding its self back into the her bag.

"Miss Rose, you smuggled a corgi into a very dangerous, very deadly area… why?"

"Because dogs are um… good at, tracking?" Ruby said glancing at her team.

"What an amazing idea!" Oobleck ripped the little dog out of Ruby's bag and spun around with it. "Canines are excellent at tracking way better than any other animal…" The doctor rambled repeatedly before quickly stopping. "Grimm." Oobleck dropped Zwei and RWBY readied their weapons. "Wait! Don't, we must observe first."

"Why?" Yang asked, she wanted to kill darn it!

"First, put away your weapons, you'll only attract more Grimm with your negativity. As I was saying, a Beowolf like that could be alone. We must track it, tail it observe until we find its pack."

"How long will that take?" Weiss said.

"Who knows, hours, days, weeks, the average Beowolf could be separated from its pack for- or we can find the pack in four seconds." Just behind the Beowolf the group had spotted, was the monster's pack. "Well ladies, do what you do best. Impress me."

"This is sooo not what I expected." Iris groaned. Team GRIN sat in a police station as their Hunter conversed with an officer about the 'perp' they caught.

"What do you mean? This is exactly what you described what you wanted." Gray yawned.

"Well, yeah but I didn't think we'd be sitting in a police station."

"Hey, at least we didn't get out with Oobleck. Our Hunter is kind of a hunk huh?" Nia whispered. GRIN's shadowed Hunter was a rather brusque man, well built and suave.

"Nia, don't make me choke you." Iris seethed. Her girlfriend/friend/thing giggled as Gray held his scroll, tossing it between his hands.

"Gray?" The boy perked up and glanced over to Rhys.

"What's up?"

"Thinking about Ruby?" The leader nodded. "Gray, she's a Huntress-in-training for a reason. She can handle herself."

"Your right but… I don't know I'm just worried is all." Rhys hummed in understanding. "How are you with Weiss?" The boy ducked his head.

"Rocky. Pretty rocky."

"Rhys, don't let Neptune get in the way. They're still talking not dating, you have a chance."

"So, you want me to try to steal Weiss away from Neptune?"

"Well, not really I'm trying to say you could persuade Weiss into changing who she wants." Gray explained.

"I understand." The two then went silent Gray staring at his scroll.

"Uh, in gonna text her!" He stammered. The boy typed and sent a message to Ruby, patiently and impatiently waiting for a response. "Now I wait."

The little leader sighed in relief as she wiped her brow. Behind her Zwei barked, happily panting as the Grimm around the leader ceased to exist. She had been fighting all day and it was finally taking a toll on her. In her bag she heard a chirp, her scroll going off. Reaching into it the girl felt a presence and stood still. "Miss Rose!" Oobleck shouted. "Would you kindly come with me we are going to scout out the area, ladies would you kindly make camp in that building over yonder, ok thank you." The doctor then zipped off. Ruby sheepishly smiled and flicked her hood over her head slightly catching up with Oobleck and Zwei.

"Doctor Oobleck! Where are we-"

"Shh, Ruby observe." The little leader followed Oobleck's finger, looking over the tops of trees until spotting the sight. Grimm.

Behemoth Grimm at that. The group of Grimm tore through the trees, the sight would have been beautiful if the beasts weren't involved.

"Woah. They're so cool." Ruby marveled.

"Indeed, Miss Rose. Those monsters have been alive for centuries."

"How? The average Grimm lives about four years."

"The average Grimm is a mindless buffoon, unlearning, and stupid. But, some Grimm survive their foolish actions and what do they do? They adapt, they learn, they understand that such actions will result in only their demise."

"Oh. Well, what are these guys doing then?" The younger asked pointing to the wandering Grimm in the distance.

"Waiting. Whatever is causing this spike in activity is surely the reason why they are here." The Grimm continued to walk away, briefly stopping to glance at the city. "Come now. Let us head to camp." Finishing the preparations of their camp, Weiss, Blake, and Yang groaned. "Ah, yes a perfectly made campfire!" Oobleck shouted zipping by it, nearly blowing it out by his speed. Ruby sat by the fire warming her hands as she pulled back her hood a bit, dumb amazing hoodie. "So, who's taking the first watch?"

"Yo." Ruby raised her hand and Oobleck nodded before sprinting off to sleep.

"Will you be alright, Ruby?" Yang asked laying in her sleeping bag.

"Yup. Night guys!" Ruby chirped grabbing Crescent Rose and her bag, Zwei following her with his tail wagging. The little leader sat on some rubble and held Crescent Rose. The girl then remembered her scroll going off earlier, so she grabbed her bag and fished around it. She pulled out her scroll and saw a message from Gray.

Gray: Hey, Rubes

The girl felt a little bad, usually, she'd respond instantly. She slipped a string from the hoodie into her mouth and chewed it as she texted back.

Ruby: Hey, sorry I was distracted. What are you doing?

In the span of five seconds Ruby's scroll vibrated.

Gray: Nothing really. Patrolling is okay Hbu?

Ruby: Killing Grimm, the usual. Oobleck is weird. Funny but weird. I'm on watch right now.

Gray: I'll leave you alone then. Night Little Rose I love you :)

Ruby smiled and said good night before turning off her scroll. Minutes pass as Ruby stared at the moon and occasionally darting her eyes across the streets. Half an hour into her watch, Zwei began to whine. "Hmm?" The dog frowned giving Ruby her own treatment of puppy eyes. "You have to go? Aww, Zwei! Come on, let's hurry up." The girl put the small dog in her hood and leaped down. Once on the ground, Ruby plopped Zwei down and the corgi went to do his business. Ruby kicked a few rocks. One in particular, bounced down the road and stopped, Ruby followed the rock, seeing a shadow walk off as it rolled to a stop.

Ruby narrowed her eyes and slowly tailed it, clutching Crescent Rose. A shadow of a person in a wrecked city put her off. The girl saw the shadow run off again and she pursued it faster, curiosity getting the best of her. Turning the corner, Ruby ran into a tall, strong figure. Rubbing her shoulder, Ruby looked up to see Ivan in front of her with Nyla by his side. "Look what we have here." Nyla said, her voice muffled by her pure white mask. Ivan grunted and reached down. Ruby was frozen, why were they here?! Of all people! "Roman would probably like it if we took her with us." Again, Ivan nodded and raised his sword. Ruby scrambled up and tried to flee but Nyla cut into her side with a quick attack.

Ruby collided with a crumbling wall and tried to regain her footing. Ivan punched her hard in the stomach and he could feel something crack. The girl slid down the wall and looked up at the two terrorists before Ivan raised his foot and kicked Ruby hard in the face. Now unconscious, Ruby was picked up and slung over Ivan's shoulder. "Easy." He groaned. Nyla began to walk ahead, sheathing her weapon.

"Yes, indeed. Let's go." The two walked the empty and destroyed streets of Mt. Glenn leaving behind Ruby's prized weapon and her tiny dog, whimpering.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ruby began to regain consciousness. "Wha? Who?"

"She's awake." Nyla sighed.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that Ivan." The little leader tried to look around her surroundings, only seeing a long train and a few White Fang members. 'They have a whole operation here.' Suddenly, Ivan stopped and dropped the girl on the ground.

"Oww! You could've at least laid me down!" Ruby complained.

"Sorry..." Ivan apologized.

"Don't apologize! She's our hostage!"

"You could treat me with kindness and comfort."

"No." Ruby pouted and stood up now getting a clear look of the area. The train was entirely underground, actually, everything was underground this stuff looked like collapsed buildings like rocks and stalactites squashed and skewered most of the area.

"What is with all of this yelling?!" A familiar voice rang out of the train before the person stepped out. "Oh. You." Roman folded his arms. "What do you two want?" Wait, did Roman not see Ruby? Nyla pointed to the red-clad girl in front of her. "Red?! When did you get here?!" Nyla sighed.

"Why are we working with such a buffoon?"

"Katherine." Ivan patted her back, oddly roughly.

"That was a rhetorical question thank you."

"What?"

"Forget about it, Ivan." Roman cleared his throat and continued.

"Well Red, now that you're here why don't you stay a while?"

"Umm, no thank you? I'd like to go back and you know, rest in a proper bed, be with friends, and not next to terrorists."

"Well, your gonna sleep on a cold floor, Ivan would you kindly?" The man, picked Ruby up under her arms like he was holding a baby and dropped her on into a holding room.

"There." Ivan threw the door shut and Ruby sighed in defeat.

"Darn!" She leaned against a wall and grabbed her hood, pulling it and gripping it in front of her for comfort. "I hope they find me..." Ruby then felt the reality of the situation hit her. 'They may be dysfunctional but they're still terrorists. Oh god...' She could die here. "Please, find me, guys..." Ruby whimpered. The only thing she had to comfort her was Gray's hoodie. "At least I have this."

Morning broke with the sad whimpering of Zwei, waking Yang up. The blonde yawned and stretched, cracking her back loudly. "Could you be any louder?" Blake seethed.

"Yup!" Yang shouted making Blake flinch.

"I shouldn't have asked." Yang kicked Weiss awake, slightly harder than she should.

"Ow! Yang!" The blonde snickered and looked down to Zwei.

"What's the matter? Where's Ruby?" Zwei ran out of their camp and onto the streets. Yang watched as the dog yipped and sniffed around, occasionally running in circles. Weiss, Blake, and Oobleck follow Yang wondering what's going on.

"Miss Xiao Long what is with this show that Zwei is putting on?"

"We're looking for Ruby." The dog yipped again and darted down the street the three members and Hunter following. The dog led them to Crescent Rose, in its compact form and whimpered. "Ruby's in danger."

"Then we must go looking for her." Oobleck said sternly. The three girls all nodded and stared at Zwei who panted, looking rather lost and confused. "Can you find her?" Zwei barked and darted in a direction, confidence in each stride. The corgi then stopped, and turned around with even more confidence.

"This could take a while."

Who knew how comfortable a cold floor could be so relaxing. Ruby held onto herself, sound asleep until she heard the opening of a door. "Well, Roman didn't lie. We do have a 'hostage'." Ruby slowly blinked and looked up, seeing the perfect skintight figure of Katherine. "Hey."

"Um, hi?" Katherine bent down so she was at eye-level with Ruby.

"Well, this is awkward. How's your day been?"

"You know, I'm pretty sure a rib is broken, I've been captured by terrorists. It's been swell." Kath scratched the back of her head, her mask moving a bit.

"Usually I'd say something sarcastic but now's not really the time." Are you serious how weird are these people? "Why are you here? Of all places."

"I had to kill a bunch of Grimm but then this happened." Ruby responded groggily. "Am I going to die? Are you going to kill me?" Kath shook her head.

"No I'm not, someone might in a few minutes." Ruby gasped, tightening her grasp on the hood. "Look it's no hard feelings but, Roman wants you dead."

"You guys are evil."

"You could say that. But not everyone was born to be a Hunter or hero. Some people get put with being the villain, their choice or not." The two stayed quiet for a minute, Ruby thinking about what Katherine said.

"What do you mean?"

"I always say that there are natural born heroes and then there are people who have to be the villain. The 'villains' sometimes want to be more than that, they want to be in the hero's shoes."

"Is that how you feel Kath?" The woman laughed and shook her head furiously.

"Hell no! I'm much happier with this life."

"But your always on the run, dodging police and you can't have no family. Your okay with that?"

"Red, your wrong on a few things. I don't have to be on the run because you'll never catch me. And I do have a family. Nyla, Grant and Ivan are my family. We may be criminals turned terrorists, but over the course of our time together we've become more then just allies. We've become brothers as sisters, at least that's what I hope they feel." Kath's voice lowered, upset with something. "I wouldn't do this with anybody else besides them." She then chuckled lowly. "Well there's two."

"Who would that be?" Ruby stood, brushing herself off.

"My 'boss' if you will. She's lovely. And your cutie of a bo-" As Kath explained who, an explosion rocked the underground. As the blonde woman turned to see who caused such a explosion wind blew passed her face and she groaned. "So much for bonding." Katherine watched at the little girl ran towards the disruption, but Nyla soon stepped in her way. "Hey Whiskers!"

"The train's ready, let's get going." The two entered the large train as Ruby ran to the explosion, hoping that it was her team.

"Guys?!"

"Ruby!" Her sisters voice rang out, the smoke cleared and Ruby could barely see her sister before she hugged her. "I was so scared!"

"They have a base out here Yang! KING is here and we have to put a stop to it!"

"Why do we have to have our adversaries be crazy terrorists?" Weiss asked.

"Because it's fun?" Weiss shook her head.

"That was a rhetorical question but thanks anyways." The heiress gave her partner her weapon and Ruby thanked her.

"Team RWBY and company, let's stop this train." Meanwhile, Roman barked at various people as the train began to lurch forward.

"Hey Roman?" Katherine said.

"What now?"

"We may want to get moving because um, they're running straight for us."

"We're already doing that Kath! Get inside!"

"Sometimes I think we underestimate these kids, they're on the train by the way."

"Katherine! Get in here now. We're going through with the plan, first spot is coming up."

"Aye aye, sir." Kath smiled joining Roman. At the farther back of the train, team RWBY and company run along the tops of each car gaining on the engine car. Suddenly, the car they were on began to slow and move away from the train as a whole.

"Guys! The train!" Last second, they leaped onto another car only for it to detach itself. Again they leaped onto a different car. Looking behind them, they watched as the cars slowed to a stop.

Before detonating. The heat from the explosion hit the team, fire filling the tunnel the train was in. Through the flames the dark bodies of Grimm ran and chased the train. "They're opening holes for Grimm! Where is this train heading?!"

"If my calculations are correct and most of the time they a-"

"Just tell us!" RWBY yelled as a collective.

"We're heading straight for Vale." Altogether, RWBY's eyes widened.

"We need to stop this train." Opening a latch, the group entered a car just behind multiple White Fang members, all of which jumped back by the random group of hunters.

"Girls. Head to the front of the train. And stop it at all costs. Zwei and I have this." Oobleck ordered. The team nodded and ran by, clearing a little bit of the herd as they ran by.

Up ahead the team entered another car, finding Nyla sitting on a large crate and Ivan glancing up. "Visitors."

"Yup." Nyla stood and unsheathed her transparent katana, Ivan joining her. Yang and Blake turned to Weiss and Ruby before nodding. The White Rose duo sprinted by, past Ivan and Nyla.

"Others?" He asked confused.

"Let then go, they're only making this more uneven." Yang glared at the two, before getting into her stance, her partner beside her. The four stared at each other, observing the room around them before returning their various eyes to each other.

Just ahead, Ruby and Weiss entered the final train car, finding Roman and Katherine sitting there. "Ooh! Roman look she bought a buddy!"

"Katherine! Stop the train! Your going to kill hundreds!"

"That's the plan Red! Ooh. We're actually reaching our destination! Kath faster!" The blonde fox cranked the train into overdrive. "Now, would you please kill these annoyances?" Weiss glanced at Ruby who nodded back.

Ruby dashed ahead, aiming for the neck with her scythe, only to slice through air. Quickly, Katherine spun, spinning at fast pace, kicking Ruby multiple times. The blonde then leaped to her feet, throwing a hook in Weiss' direction, before flicking down and whipping the girl. The heiress recovered and used a glyph to get closer, stabbing, partying and slashing. Behind the terrorist, Ruby fired round after round at her, barely hitting Weiss on accident. "Um, Roman a little help please?"

"Relax, and brace for impact!" The criminal yelled, jumping away from the front of the car.

"Ruby!" Weiss pushed Katherine out of the way with a glyph before tackling Ruby. "Stay down!" The two heard the train derail and smash into a barrier, explosions, filling their eardrums.

* * *

Patrolling was becoming realllly boring now. The boys of GRIN were fine with it but the blonde and brunette were bored out of their minds, they didn't even listen to their Hunter. Now, Gray and Rhys were trying to find the two they ran away from them and the Hunter, off to cause some trouble elsewhere. "Honestly, Iris is like a little kid."

"You know her. She's always been like that, but she does seem to get worse."

"At least you and Nia grew up. You guys know when to stop."

"I think this is turning into something else. Having problems with your partner?" Rhys glared at the boy.

"Your so dumb."

"I'll take that as a yes and there they are." The two boys crosses the street and followed their partners, following them into a large plaza, the plaza being the one where Ironwood showcased the Atlas Paladins. "Nia! Iris!" The girls turned around, frowns on their faces.

"Gray! Please don't take us back! This is so boring!"

"You chose it. Now live with it." Rhys snickered. No folded her arms.

"I didn't, this was Iris' idea. Sometimes I don't even know why I follow you sometimes." Iris blew a raspberry in her girlfriend's face.

"Ugh, whatever. I wish that something exciting happened!" The brunette whined. As she yelled a loud explosion happened just behind her, fire and other more volatile Dust detonating. The heat and wind of the blast blew her hair into her face.

"Holy crap!" Nia screamed ducking behind her partner!

"What the hell was that?!" Gray looked around seeing people run and seek cover from the random explosion.

"Gray people were in that blast! We gotta help them!" The boy, nodded running into the dark smoke that covered the plaza. The four coughed and tried to get people out of the blast, some injured and others… gone. As the smoke cleared, the four noticed a busted and broken train protruding out of the ground. Separating himself from his team, Gray investigated the crash now seeing figures of people on the floor, one wearing a hoodie and red cape.

"Ruby!" Gray yelled he sprinted to the girl scooping her off the ground, ignoring the screams and blaring of sirens. The girl was unconscious thank god.

'Who did this?! Why is Ruby back?! **Who** did this…'

Meanwhile, the remains of GRIN saw the sight and found the others of RWBY running to their aid. The leader wiped some blood off of Ruby's soft face. A small cut was on her face, it surely wasn't fatal but, it angered Gray unhealthy. Slowly, Ruby's eyes opened seeing her recovering boyfriend. "Gray? Oh no." Ruby looked to her left, finding other members of GRIN treating her team. She then turned right, seeing Katherine not to far away from her, along with Nyla and Ivan. "Gray Grimm are coming and heading right her-" Just as Ruby warned the boy, the front train car seemed to move, GRIN and RWBY running out of the way as it collapsed. Replacing the car's place was dozen of Ursas, who fell out of the hole the train made. Right behind the monster was Beowolf after Beowolf, all of which sprung on the residence of Vale. Ruby leaped onto her feet, holding Gray. "We have to kill them all! We have to save Vale!"

Gray turned to his left, seeing Katherine recover from the blast. His stature shrunk a bit and his breathing became harsh. "Your team and **Mine** take care of the Grimm. **She's Not Leaving**." Before Ruby could say anything, the boy walked to Katherine now dusting herself off. The boy castes his weapon, rushing to the terrorist and slashed across her body, following up with a kick. " **You Monster**!" Katherine recovered and Nyla stood in front of her, katana unsheathed. " **You'll Pay For This**!" The boy closed the distance only for a Beowolf to leap in front of him.

Changing his collapsed weapon into its axe form he swung horizontally, cleaving the Beowolf in two. Hearing another run behind him, Gray spun on his heel and threw his axe, the weapon ripping the monster's head right off its body and into a wall, just in front of Rhys. The boy then turned around, his thoughts were moving slower, and his sight was starting to fade. Ivan heaved his greatsword on his shoulder and sprinted to Gray, the latter leaped to the larger man, body low to the ground.

Ivan shrugged his sword off of his shoulder and went for a stab, but instantly, Gray dodged out of the way ending up behind him. The boy kicked out Ivan's leg, dropping the giant. The boy punched and kicked before then tackled the man down, straddling him. The punches turned into open hand slashes and the boy's fighting turned into one of a savage. After strike after strike, Gray rolled off Ivan and kicked him away. With a quick turnaround, Gray pursued his next target, Nyla. Ready, the woman moved into a defensive stance. She could hear the growls from the young boy and she wouldn't admit it but she was slightly intimidated. Once Gray was close enough, Nyla threw her katana downward, meeting Gray's head. He skidded past her but dug his fingers into the ground, coming to a stop. Growling, staring at her like he wanted to murder her in front of everyone, in front of the city.

Gray wasn't himself anymore. The boy was on all fours constantly, and had a look of complete anger. His hands were rough and his nails were extremely sharpened, razor sharp, no longer nails. Hair covered his arms, and his eye had nothing, living up to its void like color. Lastly… was the long wolf ear and the base of another on top of his head.

Breathing shallow and frustrated, the boy charged Nyla again, slashing and punching and kicking with utter desperation. Unable to parry the extremely quick attacks, Nyla stepped back, only to have her feet swiped from her. Her adversary gripped her shirt and spun around threw her away like she was a discus. The woman collided with a light post, and slid down. Looking up, she barely had enough time to react to her unrelenting enemy. Narrowly she rolled out of the way, hearing the boy slice through the pole like a hot knife cutting through butter. The wolf collided with a wall, denting it by his speed.

Scrambling to her feet Nyla looked around, what could she use against this monster? He never gave her a break! Overhead Bullheads were deploying more Hunters and Atlas Knights. Things weren't looking too good. Finally, and idea caught up to her. The boy ran again, this time on his two legs, and his arms outstretched to his sides, boots slammed into the ground with furious anger and determination to rip apart whoever got in his way. As he threw attack after attack, Nyla dodged barely, narrowly escaping the string of claws. After a frenzied punch, Nyla maneuvered out of the way, the punch meeting an Ursa. The big bear like monster slid back and roared at Gray. The former not even fazed by the new enemy, tackled the beast, running it into a wall.

Nia and Iris noticed this and ran to Gray's aid, pulling the large bear off of their leader, however they kept their distance, this is the worst his been.

Now free from the Ursa, Gray scanned the open plaza for Katherine. Once he found her, he sprinted to her as fast as possible, ignoring the bullets and carnage around him. Dust explosions and lumps of Grimm littered the area, but his mind was set on one thing. **That Terrorist Bitch**. Seeing her fight off some Grimm and Atlas Knights, the boy leaped behind on Knight and kicked it forward, into Katherine. Staggered the woman, fired a grappling hook behind her, pulling her away from the mass of people.

Gray cleaved through monster and robot, mind focused on his prey; that fox. Once they were all cleared out Gray rushed the woman once again, feeling her whips crash and pummel his body. One whipped across his face and the boy fell to the ground, his hospital eyepatch, falling to the ground. And just like nothing happened, the boy continued his assault without his useless eyepatch. The woman elegantly moved out of every attack, countering with her own. With every move, the two traveled across the open battlefield over the bodies of Hunters, civilians, and broken monsters. Seeing that her time was running out, Katherine, whipped the boy with one one of her legs and sprinted away. " **Get Back Here**!" Gray yelled, voice covered in anger. " **Your Not Getting Away**!" Leaping off of the remains of the assaulting Grimm, the two ran out of sight and into the alleyways of Vale.

"I'll see you later cutie." Katherine blew a kiss in his direction, before firing a hook into another alley, disappearing within a second. As the boy turned the corner, all he could see was…

A garbage can and a cat licking itself, who then screeched and ran away from him. The boy panted and stood on his 'hind legs' walking back to the wrecked plaza.

Ruby smiled as she sat on the floor. "That was terrifying."

"Terrifying?! That was the best thing that has ever happened!" RWBY and GRIN stared at Iris who quickly lost her excitement. "Ok well, yeah you guys are right, that was pretty scary."

"Honestly, it could have been worse." Weiss nodded and tried wiping off any dirt and soot on her dress.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Rhys. For the umpteenth time I'm fine." Weiss placed her hands on Rhys' shoulders, a small smile on her face. The girl then glared past Rhys.

"I just, you had me worried there, _Erbin_."

"Thank you Rhys." The heiress' eyes narrowed at the sight of the boy's leader. "But I think you need to check with Gray." The boy widened his eyes turning around, Weiss behind him. Ruby noticed her boyfriend and lunged at him, squeezing him.

After a minute of the hug, Ruby pulled away, seeing what Gray actually looked like. "Oh my… Gray?" The boy continued to pant and stay still, canine-like ear pricked forward. Ruby held the boy's face. "Hey, say something. Come back to me." Nothing. The boy only yawned and held onto Ruby tightly, eye darting protectively. Weiss narrowed her eyes in his direction. Finally, Gray blinked hard a few times, with each blink his thoughts cleared.

"Ruby?" Gray said, rubbing his eye. "I, I lost Katherine. What happened to Nyla and Ivan?"

"Thank god, I don't know what happened to Nyla or Ivan, I was dealing with Grimm and then I went to find you." Ruby recalled.

"Nyla and Ivan escaped again. But we found Torchwick in the wreck." Rhys said. "Are you okay? You took a beating during all of that." Weiss' eyes widened.

"Wait, are we going to talk about this?! Gray what was that?! You became like a monster!" Rhys turned around, angry with the heiress.

"Don't you dare say that, _sie dummkopf_!" He roared.

"No! Explain this! Now Gray!" Taken back by everything Gray lowered his head.

"I'm um, not really human. I'm not a Faunus either. I'm like a mix of the two. It's hard to explain. If anybody can explain this it's Ozpin. My parents were just like me and he knew them. He probably knows me better than I know myself. But whenever this happens, I get like-I lose my thoughts and instead I use instincts. I'm sorry I didn't tell you Weiss, Blake." If the boy had a tail, it'd be tucked under his legs. "D-did I hurt anyone?" Ruby cupped Gray's face, shaking her head.

"No, your ok."

"Are you sure? I felt like I was barely in control of myself." The little leader pulled her boyfriend into a kiss to shut him up, and she succeeded.

"Your fine, Gray." The girl glanced up, seeing his sealed eye. "Your eyepatch! It fell off!" The boy smiled, his worried look casted away.

"It's fine Ruby. Can we go?" Ruby nodded after Gray ruffled her hair. Nia and Iris, grabbed a semi-unconscious Roman.

"Ugh, I guess we have to pick up the trash. I swear we get the worst jobs." Iris grumbled, shoving Roman.

Afterward, the two teams hopped onto a Bullhead and flew to Beacon, just below the ship was Katherine, Nyla and Ivan standing on a rooftop.

"Difficult."

"Ivan's right, Kath. That kid was ridiculous." Nyla sighed rubbing her back. "Nearly broke my back."

"Yes, Gray was something we didn't expect, but know we know what he is and, Cinder will be happy! Just imagine that! Cinder smiling! Oh my go…" Nyla and Ivan tuned her out.

"Idiot."

"Couldn't have agreed more Ivan."

* * *

Team RWBY sat at the edge of Beacon's roof, seeing Atlas ships populate the sky. "So, we finally manage to stop KING and the White Fang." Yang smiled.

"Yeah, after accidentally stumbling on it." Blake mumbled.

"We didn't really stop anything." Weiss frowned. "Ruby's lover kinda beat us to the punch." Ruby blushed faintly, looking away from the group. "Ruby how long have you known?"

"I knew he wasn't human a long time after I met you guys. Me and Yang found out by his parents. It never bothered me really. I loved having him around, it was like a bonus Zwei who talked! I don't know much about his kind though. We have to talk to Ozpin tomorrow."

"That explanation will suffice for today."

"Agreed." The rest of the team said altogether.

"Well! I'm going to hang out with Gray. I'll see you guys later!" Ruby then zipped away, leaving rose petals behind.

"God she is so in love… well I'm leaving to see Rhys. Bye guys!" Again but with Weiss, a member ran off. Now with just Yang and Blake, the two stared at each other.

"Wanna chill with Nia and Iris?"

"Is it a double date?"

"It's whatever you want it to be." Blake giggled and nodded. The two stood and walked inside, searching for their counterparts. Overhead, more ships flew in, securing Vale from the breach.


	14. MOCA's GRIN

Katherine walked around, looking for Cinder. They weren't at Beacon, instead Cinder's little 'team' was occupying one of the many spots that the White Fang had under their control. "Em!" Emerald jumped at the familiar voice turning around quickly, brushing hair out of her face to make her look presentable. "You know where Cinder is?"

"Just ahead and in the last door on the left." The mint haired girl responded almost instantly. "Why?" Kath sped past her, shouting as she walked by.

"She had some 'private' stuff she wanted to talk to me about. Really private bye!" Before Emerald could say goodbye, Katherine was gone and out of sight.

"She's your idol." Emerald rolled her eyes turning around and walking away from where she was headed, away from Mercury. "Weren't you going to talk to Cinder?"

"Katherine needs to speak with her."

"Oh, so you give her space?"

"Katherine is my superior, unlike you I treat her as such."

"Yeah yeah, keep gushing over her." Mercury mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing at all." Mercury watched the girl walk in front of him. "Your lucky that you hid your little poster of her." He mumbled quietly.

Meanwhile, Katherine passed door after door until finding the one Emerald described. Opening the door, Katherine found herself in a almost empty room, it was unsettling as hell and inside she felt a small pang of nervousness. "Cinder? Hello?"

"Katherine? Oh, yes I forgot that I called you."

"Um, yeah. Why are we here? We should be at Beacon the tournament is going to be starting tomorrow morning." Cinder smiled and extended her hand showing a vial of red Dust.

"What do you see, Katherine?" The fox stared at her hand before looking into the woman's terrifying eyes.

"Uh, red Dust."

"I see something that you could use."

"Well, yeah I could use it for my whips, what's your point Cinder?" The woman was unsettling and Katherine took a small step back, intimidated.

"Not for your weapon Katherine. For you as a person. There have been stories and news reports of drug addicts using Dust as a drug, and a small amount would result in a overdose."

"Yeah, and some people used it as a way to get stronger."

"Katherine. Do you trust me?" Cinder said lowly, holding the taller woman's face.

"Yes?" Katherine responded slowly.

"How would you feel if you had red Dust injected into you?"

"What?"

"Imagine the capabilities. You could finally get rid of those brats when things come into play." Katherine looked away from Cinder, grabbing the latter's hand. "Kath?" Said woman smiled at Cinder holding onto her waist.

"I think it's a wonderful idea. Your so smart Cin." Cinder rolled her eyes and lightly shoved Katherine back.

"Bringing back my old name? Still the same woman."

"Of course, you love it. Anyways, when can I get this upgrade?"

* * *

The weather was great today. A warm breeze and colorful leaves falling made a beautiful path to walk. Ruby twiddled with her thumbs as she walked, going through what she was thinking about. Her father had led her close to her destination and she was both excited and oddly nervous. The little leader wanted to bring Gray but, with the tension he has with her father, the boy declined.

Ruby sighed. Those two had to talk to each other at some point but, Gray had a sensible reason. Eh, she'll have to tell the news on her own. The girl smiled when she recalled the 'news' to her father.

At first he was his happy to know that Gray was in fact alive and well and… he was stunned to her that he was dating his daughter. Ruby had to leave out the part that they were in love each other, that would've been pretty awkward to explain.

Not too long after Ruby reached the end of her thoughts, she had reached her destination, a small grave with her mother's name engraved in it. The varying colors of leaves were scattered throughout the small area, a few landed on Summer's grave before blowing away with the wind. "Hi mom. I know it's been a while but, things have been a little.. bizarre." The little girl stayed quiet for a bit, smiling along with the silence. "Well, I'll tell you what happened. Uh, I'm a student at Beacon! Can you believe it?! Oh and, I have my own team! Yeah! Together we form team RWBY and we're like so cool! My partner is Weiss Schnee, yes _the_ heiress to that Dust company! She was a little mean at first but now, we're practically best buds. Yang is in my team too and her partner is so nice and a little quiet. She's like a super ninja! Her name is Blake Belladonna." Ruby grinned hiding her cold hands within Gray's oversized hoodie.

"Oh, almost forgot! Do you like my hoodie? Guess who I got it from! Gray! He's back and he's in Beacon! He's all grown up and he didn't change at all. Like he still stresses over me and stuff, I love it." The girl blushed reaching the awkward part about her and Gray. "Um, also kinda crazy but, me and Gray are kind of dating? Well, not kind of! But! You know… also, I didn't tell dad but…" Ruby lowered her voice. "We're like really in love with each other I think? Yeah I think so, ugh! I'm so bad at relationships!" Ruby whined. "Anyway, He's so tall and strong now and he has really great friends for his own team. A girl named Iris Hunt is like his weird sort-of-sister. her girlfriend, I think, Nia May is really sweet and cute and lastly he has Rhys Müller on his team. They're all really goofy and stuff so it's awesome to keep them around."

"Without them especially Gray, I wouldn't love being in Beacon. Being a leader can be stressful, but with friends it isn't so bad… I really miss you and I'm sorry I couldn't convince Gray to come with me to visit you, I'm sure he would've loved it, and I'm sure he misses you just as bad as I do. I uh, think it's time for me to go, the Tournament is starting soon and I'm participating! Wish me luck mom, I love you and I promise I'll try to visit more often! Bye." The girl took a few steps back, before spinning around and walking away, leaving the grave and ready for the Vytal Tournament.

* * *

"Gray, hurry up! We're gonna miss RWBY's fight!" GRIN's blonde pouted.

"You wanted food so don't complain! Plus why did you and Iris have to get so much?" The boy struggled to carry the various food that Nia and Iris wanted.

"Because, this fight is gonna be awesome!"

"That's a terrible excuse, you know I'm broke now right?" Nia waved him off as they walked down the stairs to their seats.

"Eh, I'll pay you back."

"You know how much all of this costed right?"

"Uh, five lien?" She asked nervously. Gray fished out the receipt and gave it to the adorable blonde. Her eyes widened to incredible levels and her mouth dropped as she stopped on the stairs.

"Yup, your paying me back for all of that." Gray said as they found their seats with Iris and Rhys.

"Why didn't you say something?!" Nia yelled as her leader gave out the beverages and snacks, the snacks portion was mostly for Nia and Iris.

"I did! And you said 'I need food or I'll die', which I responded with 'Nia you bought so much' and then you said 'I don't care buy me food'."

"Did I really do that?" Nia asked herself.

"Yes! You did! You killed my money then danced on its grave." Gray flicked the girl's head as Rhys shushed them. Professors Oobleck and Port were talking to each other briefly about the rules and how the tournament is going to run. This only added to the excitement that GRIN was up next, sure they should be prepping while this was going on but, they weren't the most functional team. Oobleck announced the teams and both of them entered the battlefield. Cheers filled the area, and Nia covered her ears to avoid going deaf from Gray.

The fields changed to various environments before Port began the countdown. "3! 2! 1! Fight!" The two teams charged at each other and the crowd roared. Each fourth of the teams were spilt in the multiple environments. GRIN cheered for their friends while above them near the concession stands, was 'Catalina'.

"There's Gray's little lover, in action." Burning red eyes watched the large television with transparent interest. She then looked down each aisle of the stadium scanning for the boy. Finding him, although barely, the woman walked down the aisle until finding his team's seats. The blonde fox then sat down, acting as if she didn't notice them.

"Oh, hey Catalina! I didn't see you there!" Nia smiled. One thing about this girl was that she could always make you smile no matter what.

"I didn't see you guys here either, Gray always nice to see you." The boy in particular smiled and waved before returning to the fight.

"Wait," The boy turned back to the fox Faunus. "You have red eyes now, when did that happen?" Crap, Katherine didn't think of that.

"Oh I got colored contacts recently? I always liked color red." She lied. Nia smiled.

"It's that or your trying to cosplay as your favorite blonde!" She laughed. Katherine chuckled with her before returning her attention to team RWBY's fight which was quickly rapping up. "Gray! It's about time for us to head down! Wish us luck Catalina!" The blonde winked at the other blonde.

"She barely touched the stuff I bought her." Catalina laughed and bid the team farewell and watched them leave. In their rush GRIN forgot their various snacks, so, Katherine sat back and grabbed theirs, although Iris and Nia did eat a majority of theirs in a rush.

Nia and Iris dragged their partners across, down and occasionally up until they reached the little preparation area for each team. "Wait! Guys I want a picture for us!" Nia said stopping everyone from getting their gear together.

"What?" Gray asked.

"I know it's a little late but, I want to start somewhat recording our life here and uh, what a best time to start then at the vytal tournament?" Rhys glanced to Iris who shrugged saying 'she always wanted to do it'. "Please guys?" Gray smiled and stood close to Rhys while Iris held her stomach with a concerned face.

"Just get our good side." Gray and Rhys grinned. Nia squealed and stood in between them, Iris doing the same. The brunette groaned and pleaded for a moment.

"Wait, Nia, I think I ate too much. My stomach hurts."

"We don't have time! Smile!" Nia said holding her scroll far and high enough to fit everyone including Gray's height.

Rhys stood on the far left and held his arms crossed with a smirk on his face, his eyes were relaxed and happy. Gray was on the far right and he leaned into the picture, grinning while giving a two finger salute with his left hand. Nia held her scroll out just to the right of Gray, her eyes were closed and she was giving a beaming grin. And lastly… Iris, who was trying to control herself and somewhat smile into the picture, but hilariously, it didn't work out. The brunette had a awkward smile that was a mix of pain and joy? Was that the best way to describe it?

Well, afterward Nia smiled at the picture saving it, luckily Iris' little smile didn't ruin the picture. "Great start guys! This will be awesome!" Nia smiled as the gate to the arena opened and the four walked out.

"That sucks. First picture and it's my worst." Iris grumbled. The four walked to the center of the field as Port and Oobleck announced each of their names. "And now for their adversaries! Professor Oobleck would you like to announce them?"

"Yes and thank you very much. Team GRIN could have their work cut out for them because this team is known for busting bubbles! Ladies and gentlemen, team MOCA!" The gate on the other side of the arena opened revealing GRIN mortal enemies.

Team MOCA seemed well coordinated, they were all dressed in warm colors. "Annie North! Carr Sheer! Olena Onley! And their leader, Maru Marcillo!"

MOCA was dominated by girls only having one boy. Maru, their leader, was a brunette with light brown highlights and hair bundled up into a ponytail. The girl had a light tan similar to Nia's except a little lighter. Maru wore a dark brown zip-up hoodie, the hoodie being three-quarters zipped and barely revealing a cream colored t-shirt. Her pants were faded jeans.

Maru's partner Olena, wore similar clothes. A light brown leather jacket that was unzipped showing a dark brown v-neck, faded jeans and converses. Olena had a gentle smile and blonde hair outlining her face perfectly, her ocean blue eyes contrasting her hair perfectly.

To the CA side, Carr was the only boy on the team and his build was fairly normal. Carr had such long black hair he pulled into a ponytail and it still reached his shoulders. His outfit was made up of a tight cream muscle shirt, khaki pants and boots.

Lastly was Annie, the short haired brunette wore a similar outfit to Carr the only exception being her khaki shorts. The two teams stood in front of each other analyzing their adversaries. GRIN took note that MOCA all had various forms of swords.

"Hi!" Nia waved, Iris doing the same but with less enthusiasm. Annie glanced at her partner before waving back. "I like your outfits! Well coordinated." Maru smiled.

"Thanks! Good luck GRIN." The leader said getting into a fighting position and holding her scimitar in front of her.

"Thanks but I don't think we'll need it." Gray grinned back at the opposing leader as he slung his transformed axe onto his shoulder.

"We're gonna win… in style!" Nia smiled. As Nia bragged, the random slot machine like… machines began to roll before landing on forest on MOCA's side and… volcano for GRIN's side. The arena around them transformed fitting the selections. "So! What are we doin' here? One on one or just a brawl?" Maru glanced at Gray, then Nia and shrugged.

"Eh, why not one on one, that sounds fun." Annie and Olena agreed while their only male member shrugged. "Leader versus leader!" Gray snickered as his team choose who their fighting. Finally, Port began to count down.

"Three! Two! One!"

Immediately, Maru lunged at Gray and kicked him into the heated volcano territory, while Nia rushed Olena, Iris tackled Carr and Annie took on Rhys.

The brunette girl threw Gray back before following up with a quick swipe with her scimitar. "You know! I like how well coordinated your team is!" Gray complimented while swiping at Maru's feet.

"Thanks! We try a lot. I like how different your team is." She complimented back before tripping Gray and shoving him back leading up to a series of attacks.

"Thanks!" Gray smiled before collapsing his weapon. He then dodged Maru's curved weapon before countering by slicing at her open back, as she recoiled from the impact, Gray extended his weapon back to its axe form. The boy then properly tripped Maru up before slamming the axe to the ground, with Maru being an obstacle. The smash was loud and caused Maru to be pinned by the large weapon, but just as it slammed down on her, it was quickly removed before being thrown down again. Quickly, MOCA's leader blocked the blow and slid the axe along the curved blade before meeting the hard molten ground. The girl kicked Gray back and scrambled onto her feet again, recovering.

Meanwhile, Olena and Nia dashed across the field, occasionally getting in between each battle. The two both had two fast paced weapons, Nia with her katana and dagger and Olena with her twin swords. The two dodged and parried, using their bladed weapons to their fullest potential. Finally, Olena dashed just ahead of Nia and managed to corner the blonde before whaling into her. After unrelenting attack after unrelenting attack, Nia parried and disarmed Olena from one of her weapons. The blonde then kicked Olena hard in the stomach before throwing the girl back, just enough for Nia to get herself together. The bubbly blonde slashed Olena's leg as she slid by, and slashed across Olena's back, before finishing with a hard kick. Olena grabbed her other sword she growled at the blonde as Nia winked. "Watch out!" Iris yelled as she nearly ran through Nia, as Iris ran from the volcano area to the edge of forest.

The girls barely dodged Carr's large great sword as he pursued Iris. "Hey! No breaking rules!" Iris broke up her large sword in a attempt to whip Carr which failed as he held his sword to block it. Removing it out of his sight he didn't notice, Iris rush him with her fully connected sword before ripping it from the ground and throwing Carr into the air. The boy recovered in mid air and threw his blade down to Iris, which the girl easily dodged. But, Carr fell down to his weapon and kicked Iris with the momentum of the fall, causing her to bounce off the ground, the two switching places. Carr then gripped his great sword and smacked Iris with all his strength, knocking her out of the arena.

"Oh no! Iris Hunt has been knocked out of the arena! She is out of the fight!" Oobleck shouted as the girl sighed and laid on the ground in defeat. "Now the fight has turned into four against three and things are looking rather 'heated' with Maru and Gray!"

Maru swiped and quickly dodged attacks kicking the red Dust into Gray and even using it on her scimitar. Switching to his scythe Gray brung his weapon overhead and onto Maru, to which the girl blocked and locked each other in place. Carr ran to Maru's aid ignoring the secret deal the team's had. The boy tackled GRIN's leader and threw him back. "Carr! That's cheating!" Maru yelled.

"Guess one on one is out the window." Gray grumbled and watched Carr rush him again. The one eyed boy dodged Carr easily, sticking his foot out in the process and tripped Carr. Gray caught he boy with his scythe, the blade in between Carr's legs and letting him rest along it. The scythe user then flung Carr into the air. Gray then hooked Carr again across his back and flung him downward onto the hard floor, the ground cracked briefly as the boy bounced up into the air again. Gray leaped up to meet Carr halfway and slammed his now, axe formed weapon into Carr's back pinning him to the floor. Gray changed his weapon to a scythe once again and hooked the blade under the prone Carr. Gray then flipped over him and launched the boy in Nia's direction. "Nia! Take him out please?"

The blonde glanced to her left and back stepped, clashing with Olena. "Gotcha!" Nia took a few steps back and waited for the inevitable. Olena stared at Nia while the blonde tilted her head to her left, giving Olena a hint. The MOCA member turned to her right and realized what was happening. Carr flew into Olena and threw them into the forest. "Taken care of!"

"Nia um, switch with me!" Gray's partner obliged and stopped Maru from chasing Gray. The boy grabbed a red Dust crystal and ran to the currently recovering OC of MOCA. Olena groaned and tried to get off of Carr as he tried to get up as well, the two fumbling over each other. Reaching them, Gray tossed the crystal into the air and leaped along with it. The boy flipped and stabbed it with the axe variation of his weapon, pinning it. The boy threw his axe down with all his might, connecting with Olena and Carr. The red Dust crystal exploded and covered half of the forest area in a huge firestorm. Trees and large tuffs of grass caught fire and few branches flung onto the rest of the arena. Along with the branches, Carr and Olena were thrown to and fro, Carr landing outside of the arena and Olena crashing into the remains of a tree.

"What a play by Gray and Nia! They eliminated two members of MOCA with quick efficiency! Now GRIN has the advantage! Three to two!" However, as the smoke cleared, the flames and embers revealed Gray on the ground groaning. "What?! It seems Gray took himself out to take out Olena and Carr!"

"I'm sure that was a hard decision to make on his part!" Port boasted. "It's a even playing field now!" On the battlefield, Gray coughed and laughed to himself.

"Yeah, 'decision'. Nia, Rhys! Team Attack: Improv!" He commanded.

Nia and Rhys smiled and ran to each other, their new adversaries chasing them. The four met at the center of the arena, Maru catching up to Nia and Rhys barely ahead of Annie. Nia leaped into the air as Rhys slid under her, firing his orbs into Maru like a shotgun. After he did so, the boy duplicated more and shot four more into Nia, propelling her faster as she slashed Annie across the neck, knocking the girl to the ground. Recovering, Maru ran to Rhys, seeing the advantage he had at distance. As she swiped, slashed and kicked, she couldn't land a single hit as each orb of his blocked with expert precision. As Maru was struggling, Nia and Annie were having a small samurai duel, Nia's weapon combined into one. Parry after parry, no attacks were landed for each fight until, after what felt like a lifetime, Nia broke Annie's defense.

The girl rushed Annie, pushing her into the now burning forest before shoving the latter onto a burning trunk of a fallen tree, recoiling from the burn, Annie stumbled into Nia as she broke her weapon in two again and thrusted her dagger into Annie before ripping her blade from her hand. The blonde then held her katana and dagger at either side of Annie's neck. "I surrender." Annie grumbled. Nia patted her back.

"You did good! Oh, excuse me." Nia ran to Rhys' aid, who's defense wasn't so perfect. Maru landed a blow in Rhys shoulder and the boy went to push her back with his orbs but she barely dodged them and kicked Rhys's leg out. The boy fell back and went to protect himself from the oncoming onslaught, but he never felt it. The boy opened his eyes to see Nia circling Maru, and hitting her with every opportunity. Rhys scrambled up and threw his arms forward, telling his orbs to end it. The orbs then smashed into Maru's back throwing her into Nia, who slammed her foot into Maru's stomach and pinning her to the floor. Maru's Aura flickered and that called the match.

"What a fight!" Port yelled with his daily enthusiasm. "MOCA has lost to GRIN and it was a close fight at that, wouldn't you say Bart?" As the two conversed Nia, Rhys and Iris ran to Gray to celebrate. Nia grabbed the boy and pulled him into a hug as Iris did the same, and Rhys stood there smiling.

"Guys! Picture!" Nia pulled out her scroll for another picture, a big smile on her face. "Smile~" She sang.

* * *

"You know I really like this picture."

"Only because you don't look like your in pain."

"Shush! Gray was in pain!" Iris and Nia bickered as RIN and WBY walked through the fairgrounds.

"No duh. I'm surprised his Aura was still up after that explosion." Weiss said.

"Well, it was pretty cool though. He was all like 'NIA' and I was all like 'I got you' and he was all like 'arrgh' and then fire was everywhere!" Iris smiled and slung an arm around Nia.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool, before he was on the ground in pain." Meanwhile, Ruby and Gray walked hand in hand or, hand in hand-covered-by-oversized-clothing.

"That was such a cool fight Gray! You did pretty great!" The boy brought the girl closer and into a tight one armed hug as he laughed.

"Yeah, 'great'. I exploded like you did on the first day." The girl pouted and slapped him.

"You knocked two people out of the fight in one attack, I think that's pretty cool. And your explosion was a lot more catastrophic."

"Well, thanks Little Rose. I appreciate that."

"Your little team attack was pretty good too." The boy smiled and ruffled Ruby's hair.

"You sound so nerdy, I love it. You know what's funny? It was completely improvised! Hence why it's called 'Improv'." Ruby giggled loudly and her boyfriend frowned. "Not that funny."

"It is though!" The boy chuckled.

"Okay, maybe it's a little funny." The two leaders teams seemed to have disappeared leaving them by themselves. The two walked through the fair spotting games and playing a few. Who knew that Ruby was good at shooting games. The two spotted a test your strength game and Ruby dragged Gray to it.

"Gray, please please please oh please win this for me? I really want this Beowolf!" The boy rolled his eye and paid for a crack at the game. Gray grabbed the hammer and swung in a bit getting a feel for its weight. The boy breathed in and out before slamming the hammer down as hard as he could. The puck shot up the tower and barely hit the bell. "You almost didn't get it!" Ruby smiled. The carney congratulated Gray and asked him to pick from the various plushies he had. "Gray! Gray! Get, the, Beowolf!" Ruby emphasized every word as she jumped up and down.

"I don't know, maybe I'll get the Ursa, that's pretty cute." Ruby groaned and weakly slapped Gray.

"You jerk! No more cuddles!" She threatened. Sighing Gray chose the Beowolf which he gave to Ruby, she squealed and jumped into Gray hugging him, and giving him a small kiss on the cheek. "Thank you!"

"So what was that about cuddling? No more? Guess you'll have to cuddle that Beowolf." Ruby smirked at Gray and squeezed the Beowolf.

"That's fine this thing is more my size anyways." Gray frowned casting his eye to the ground. "I'm kidding! This thing isn't anywhere close to what I have right next to me. You more warm, funnier, everything!" Ruby jumped in Gray's way and leaned forward. "I wouldn't have anything else then my big boy right here!" Gray kissed her forehead and the small girl giggled.

"Your weird."

"And you love it."

"Of course I do." The two continued to walk through the fairgrounds just walking and talking.

"Gray, hold my Beowolf?"

"What? Your tired of it already?" Ruby shook her head.

"No, just do it please?" The boy gestured to hand the large plushie over and the girl quickly did what she was told. Ruby then hugged Gray's unoccupied arm and extended one of her arms to grasp his hand, linking her fingers with his. "Thank you, gentleman." Ruby sighed, nuzzling into his arm. Minutes passed and soon the two found their teams and JNPR they were all sitting at a noddle shop and the two walked over. "Hey guys!" Ruby smiled. Everyone turned around and said their hellos. Nia patted to a empty seat for Gray but there was no seat for Ruby. The boy glanced down and saw the blush on Ruby's face, she had the same idea as he did. Gray sat on the seat and picked Ruby up, planting her in his lap. He then handed Ruby, her plush Beowolf to which she held in her lap.

"Aww, so cute!" Nia gushed before snapping a picture of them. Gray smiled into it while Ruby tried to hide herself within his chest, while also smiling. Nia smiled put away her scroll.

"Don't you think your going a little overboard with the pictures?" Iris asked.

"Don't you think your going a little overboard with the noodles? This is like your third bowl!" Nia pointed out. "You weren't feeling too well before and after the fight so you decide to eat even more?"

"I'm depressed for how I got out okay?!" Iris cried stuffing her face with more noodles.

"So, guys how do you feel about your fight coming up?" Gray asked turning to JNPR.

"A little nervous, and a little confident. And a little nervous." Jaune said.

"You um, said that already." Ruby said.

"Yeah I know."

"Well, don't worry. I'm sure my team's fight was the most unorthodox and weird fight yet so I'm sure you guys can't do anything worse." Pyrrha shook her head.

"Although it was unorthodox, it was very enjoyable Gray." She complimented.

"Thanks, Pyrrha."

"I said the same thing!" Ruby interrupted.

"Yeah but your you." Ruby huffed and Gray ruffled her hair, making her blush. Gray felt his scroll go off and he retrieved it and opened it remembering what he had to do. "Oh, I gotta go. I'm having a little meeting with Ozpin. Get up babe, please?" Ruby hopped off of Gray and he slid off his seat. "I'll see you guys later ok? Jaune, I'll try to make it to your fight, alright?" The boy gave Ruby a hug before kissing her goodbye. "I love you." He grinned.

"I love you too." The boy then walked away, out of sight from his friends. Ruby took his seat and smiled to herself, not noticing RIN, WBY and JNPR all staring at her. Until she finally notices. "What? Is there something on my face? Did Gray leave one of those 'hickey' things on me?" RIN laughed at the little girl, Blake, Ren, Weiss chuckling with them.

"Don't worry about it Ruby." Yang smiled. She was happy for her little sis, she found love pretty young.

* * *

Gray understood the reason for these meetings but they were becoming tedious. The boy waited for the elevator to stop ascending, ignoring the bland music. Not too long the elevator stopped and the boy stepped out. Ozpin stood at his desk, smiling when he saw Gray. "Here you are, only a minute late this time. Come sit."

"It takes a while to get from the fairgrounds to here Oz." Gray jabbed as he sat at the small chair and table, Ozpin joining him.

"How is everything Gray?"

"Just great. Ruby's great, my team won our fight and now I'm here."

"Congratulations. However, I wasn't talking about that." Gray rubbed his face and slid deeper into his chair.

"After the Breach, things have been a little weird."

"Have you been hearing things?"

"No, just, how do I explain this… I feel like I'm in control and also not in control at the same time." Ozpin took the information in. "What does this mean, Oz? I don't fully understand what's happening to me." Ozpin sighed.

"Your family was part of another race of sorts. Like Faunus but mostly singled out as canines, more popularly, wolves. You are a Beast, as your race identifies themselves."

"Yeah I know all of this already."

"Certain families, like yours is… special. Over the course of your life, your 'instincts' will try to take over, intelligence will shrivel and common sense won't truly exist for you. However, you can fight this, hence what your doing."

"So, when people said my parents went crazy, they really just…"

"They lost common sense and rationality, dwindling down to the mind of a wolf or other canine. Gray I'm sorry."

"It's fine Oz. You did what you had to. They didn't want to be that and you did what they asked. I just wish I got to know them more." Ozpin glanced up to the clockwork above them.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"What were they like?" Ozpin shifted, getting comfortable before thinking.

"Delilah was a beautiful woman black hair, and black eyes she was much shorter than you, as well. I'm sure she would've been surprised to see you grow into such a man. She had a much lighter pigment then you, you got that from your father. Delilah was a quiet woman, she managed to never test someone and she always had a way of starting up conversation went she wanted to. She was such a caring mother, like a bear protecting her cub. It was almost impossible to agitate her, the only exception being, messing with Mason or you." Gray smiled imagining his mom.

"Now, Mason… I'm sure you got your 'personality' from him. Mason had your whole face but your eyes his were a warm brown. I'm sure you got your height from him too." The two chuckled, thinking as the constant clockwork ticked. "He was more of a lover then a fighter. And well, he loved your mother very much. And he loved you too. Mason was the full embodiment of a family man. He couldn't wait to see you grow, how you would act." Gray clenched and unclenched his hands. "They'd be proud, Gray."

"Yeah…" The boy shallowly breathed. "I hope so." The two stayed silent for a few minutes. "How close were you to them?"

"Close enough to be Mason's best man. Close enough to be one of the first to hear about your birth… close enough to where they wanted me to put them down." Ozpin didn't hear but Gray was beginning to cry.

"Why?"

"Pardon?"

"Why did they leave me, Oz?" The boy stared into Ozpin's eyes wanting an answer. He was glad on how things turned out, on how he grew up, who he became to be but… why did they have to leave?

"Gray, they didn't leave you. They loved you so, so much. Their choice wasn't the first and it also wasn't the last. They wanted nothing more then to just cast away the defect that they had but, they couldn't. It was they're time and they didn't want to turn on their beloved young so, they took you to Summer, someone they could trust to take care of you and they came to me. They did not leave you. If anything, they are with you everyday. From when you wake up, to when you go to sleep." Gray sniffed and nodded, trying to get his breathing together.

"Thanks Oz. That… that helped a lot." Ozpin smiled.

"Anytime Gray. I believe we're done for today. We'll continue this tomorrow. I want to show you something, I feel like you should have it." Gray nodded and stood up before walking to the elevator.

"See ya tomorrow Oz." The doors closed and the boy was gone. Ozpin looked down at his mug, holding it tightly.

"They're always with you, I see it every day."

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 _Nishaven: Gray's weapon reminds me the Burial Blade from Bloodborne._

 **Me: Well the jig is up. Gray's, Nia's and Iris' weapons were inspired by a lot of Bloodborne and Dark souls weapons. Gray's was Bural, Hunter Axe and Beasthunter Saif.**

 _Nishaven: It is interesting that Ozpin doesn't use Gray's surname. Look like he has a secret past._

 **Me: :3**

 _xNaruHina: Uh, so instead of one OC we get four? That's a bit much... xD Nia seems adorable but kinda not wanting the story to be overrun by OC's. One is plenty._

 **Me: May seem like much but I'm sir you know about the four antagonistic OC's XD**

 _XNaruHina: Why couldn't Gray get paired with Ruby? :c_

 **Me: Because I felt like that would be a cheap way to have them be in a relationship and they live in the same room. If you understand, that could lead to some _interesting_ themes and I didn't want that to happen. **

**I know it's been a while but I hoped you guys enjoyed this, keep reviewing I love reading these, or if you just wanna talk to me about these stories P.M me. Also I'm going to start doing these at the end of every chapter to hopefully not kill the flow.**

 **Have a nice day guys. Take care.**


	15. Parental Gifts

Gray returned to the arena, messaging Ruby that he was on his way back. To which she responded with 'standing at the entrance. I'm coming.' So the boy stood at the entrance to the coliseum, watching various people enter and even do what he's doing, waiting for someone. The boy turned around after hearing the familiar 'pitter-patter' of Ruby's feet. Just as the boy saw her, the little leader leaped into his arms. "You're excited."

"Come on! JNPR's fight is almost over! Afterward I want you to come with me to my dorm?"

"And do what exactly, Ruby?" Gray asked as she dragged him forward. The little girl caught onto what he was thinking and stopped, shoving him.

"Get your mind out of the gutter! I wanted to snuggle, cuddle, be a couple!" The girl held her excitement, embarrassed that her boyfriend would even think of such a thing! She tried not the delve into the specifics of Gray's current thought process, at least that's what she thought he was thinking. The two finally began to see JNPR's fight, but right at the end. Ruby groaned and shoved Gray. "Look what you did! You made me miss it!" The boy rolled his eyes as people walked by them.

"Oh, I'm sorry you wanted to meet your boyfriend and watch the fight with him." Gray said folding his arms. Ruby chuckled nervously and scratched her head.

"Heh, guess your right. Come on let's head back to Beacon, I don't care about any other fight now." The girl dragged the boy back to where they were originally, nearly running into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Ruby apologized. The person waved her off before noticing Ruby's lover.

"It's fine. Oh!" It was Maru! The brunette smiled and looked up into Gray's eye. "Gray! I wanted to congratulate you for winning. Your partner was right, you guys did finish in style." Gray chuckled, rubbing his arm like he was hiding a blush.

"Aww, thanks you weren't so bad yourself. Held me for a while."

"You too!" As the two talked and complimented each other, Ruby watched with a 'smile' on her face, lightly tugging on Gray's arm and getting more forceful as the conversation continued. So forceful that Ruby was basically putting all of her weight into moving her tower of a boyfriend. "Well it was nice talking to you but since, she, is so anxious on leaving I'll see you around?" Gray smiled and nodded.

"Sure. See you around Maru." The three parted ways and Gray and Ruby walked into a Airship and waited for it to take off. Ruby sat down next to Gray and folded her arms turning away from him. "Ruby?"

"Hmpf!" She pouted looking up and away from Gray.

"Are you serious? Are you really jealous of Maru? Gray laughed.

"Nope." The girl hid her hands in her hoodies and held her arms tighter.

"You answered that really quick."

"Because that's how much I'm not jealous!" The boy rolled his eye and pulled her in close. As Ruby lazily tried to get away but felt comfortable nonetheless, however she tried to keep up her invisible wall.

"Sure. Whatever you say. But, you have nothing to worry about Ruby. I literally met her today then fought her. And I'll show you why you don't have to worry. " Ok, screw Ruby's invisible wall.

"Is that so?" Ruby asked in a slightly shaky voice.

"Yeah, you'll see soon." The boy snickered letting Ruby's mind wander. Wander, but not get too far, the boy didn't want to push her into anything and honestly, such a thought was barely in his mind.

* * *

Their ride was fairly short and before they knew it, they were walking to their dorm from the docks. Ruby was silent wondered what the boy meant by 'you'll see soon'. She had thoughts but nah…

Just ahead of them was a large crowd and a distinct all white figure stood out from the common attire of the group. Ruby dashed ahead leaving Gray to catch up. "Weiss! Weren't you at the Tournament? Why are you here?" The heiress turned around, rolling her eyes.

"Hello Ruby, Gray. If you must know I believe that my sister is here and-" The sound of metal crashing against metal cut Weiss off. "Well it's for you to see." Weiss led the two, pushing people aside just enough to where Gray could see.

"Oh no." Gray mumbled.

"What? I can't see! Pick me up!" Ruby shouted. Her boyfriend obliged and put the small girl on his shoulders. Ruby gasped when she saw what the crowd was looking at. One person was what seemed to be a older looking Weiss and the other was… Ruby's uncle. "Uncle Qrow?" The two pushed against each other, weapons grasping each other tightly. The two battled across the small makeshift arena that the crowd had made, dancing fluidly with dodges. "Why are they fighting?" Ruby asked.

"I have no clue." Weiss said. "I was talking to my sister then all of a sudden he's attacking my sister." Gray and Ruby exchanged looks before continuing to watch the fight. Once again the two Hunters clashed before a loud gunshot ceased any other action.

"Enough. Both of you." A voice yelled out. Said voice belonged to Ironwood who walked over to Qrow and Weiss' sister. "Now come with me." Ironwood glanced over the dispersing crowd and noticed Gray and Ruby on his shoulders. The man then walked over to the two. "Hello Mr. Gray, Miss Ruby."

"Hello general Ironwood." Ruby greeted tapping Gray to put her down.

"Hey James." Gray spoke in a monotone voice. As Gray said his hello, Ruby ran off to say hello to her Uncle, who was drunk… surprisingly.

"Well, after that unnecessary incursion, it was nice to meet you once again. You've grown into a strong man."

"Thanks." Gray said dryly. "Does Ozpin want to see me again."

"No actually all he wanted me to say was be up early in the morning he has a gift and explanation for you. Qrow! Let's go. And Winter, behave yourself." Ironwood gave a causal salute to Gray and walked off, Ruby's uncle joining him. Weiss scoffed and walked away while Ruby and Gray waved goodbye to Qrow the former having more enthusiasm.

"I wonder why Uncle Qrow is here. Gray?" Ruby looked up to see her boyfriend staring at the three… angrily? "Hey, big boy."

"Hmm?" Ruby stood on her toes and grabbed his face pulling it down.

"Graaaayy. Whatever is going on in your small little brain, forget about it, okay?" Gray glanced down and mumbled. "Hey, weren't you going to show me something once we got to my dorm?" The boy snickered and raked Ruby's hair.

"Yeah. Come on, Little Rose before Yang comes and ruin the fun." The couple left the area as Qrow, Ironwood and Winter made their way to Ozpin's office.

Qrow glanced at the two Atlesians mumbling to himself, mind wandering to Ruby and… Gray. He hasn't seen the kid in a while that small glimpse he saw of the boy made him wonder. Wonder what type of man he grew into.

The ride up to Ozpin's office was silent, the occasional glances Qrow. Finally, the doors to Ozpin's office opened showing Ozpin and Goodwitch. "Good afternoon Oz. Glynda." Ironwood said, getting a nod from Ozpin and and roll of the eyes from Goodwitch.

"Afternoon Ironwood. Qrow good to see you." Glynda scoffed.

"Unbelievable. You left quite the impression Qrow. A drunken idiot attacking a Atlesian commander." Qrow grumbled and walked over to one of the many windows in Ozpin's office.

"So, what are we here to discuss?" Qrow growled.

"Gray he…" Ozpin began.

"Don't tell me." Qrow spun around, staring into Ozpin's eyes. "Don't tell me it's happening already."

"I'm afraid so. He has informed me that he's losing control. We need to do help him." Glynda said.

"Wasn't Mason and Delilah a lost cause? If so how are you sure that we can save Gray."

"James. We can't do anything. All we can do is guide him."

"How do we plan on doing that?" Qrow asked. Ozpin smiled.

"Simple. We visit the lost. And grow from their mistakes."

* * *

The next day, Gray woke up early just like Ozpin had requested. The boy grabbed clothes and walked into his bathroom to change. After slipping into clothes, washing his face and brushing his teeth, the boy tried to quietly slip through and out his dorm but, as soon as he opened the bathroom door, he was greeted with his partners red eyes. "Gray? Where are you going?"

"Oz wants to see me. He's gonna give me something apparently." Nia hummed in understanding, rubbing her eyes.

"Okay. Have fun. I'll have to break the news to Ruby." The two snickered and switched places as Gray left the room.

"Ok Oz, what do you have in store today?" The boy walked through the hallways with both excitement and nervousness. What did Ozpin have in store for him? The boy raked his hair as the elevator rose up. 'Clear your head. You trust Oz.' The doors opened and the residents of the room turned, few smiling. The people in the room were Ozpin, Glynda and Qrow, Oz and Glynda being the ones smiling.

"Good morning Gray." Ozpin spoke. The boy nodded and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, three sets of eyes on him.

"So, you wanted to show me something? Does this have something to do with yesterday?" Ozpin glanced at Glynda and she nodded to him.

"Yes. In fact it does. Come with us. The four of us are going on a walk." Ozpin said, heading to the elevator. The of inhabitants of the office joined him and the elevator descended.

"So, what's in store? Oz?" Gray asked.

"You really grown." Qrow muttered. Gray turned to the man and smiled.

"Well, hello to you too Qrow." The two smiled to each other, giving each other a strong handshake.

"You've certainly changed to the little boy I used to know."

"Yeah, not much of a little puppy now."

"You still have the heart of one." Qrow stared deeper into Gray's eye. "How's Ruby?" Gray rolled his eye.

"Relax. No need to be protective, she already has me for that job." Qrow snickered and tightened the grip of the handshake.

"Oh so you're taking my job now huh?" Finally, the elevator stopped, Ozpin and Glynda walking out first while Glynda muttered 'unbelievable'. The four exited the main building and continued on their "stroll".

"Oz where are we going? What do you want to show me?"

"Please be patient Gray. We are almost there." Gray grunted and adjusted his eyepatch. Silence washed over the group, a somber feeling overlapping them. Minutes passed and soon Ozpin and Glynda stopped. In front of them was…

Two tombstones, in front of a large tree, both of them having names inscribed in them.

Mason and Delilah.

Gray stared at the names, the fine detail they had, the sharpness of the dot of the 'i' in Delilah. The boy reached for his father's name, lightly brushing his fingers on the name. He felt a careful hand rest on his shoulder.

"They were fantastic people, close with all of us."

"Why are we here? Why am I at my parents graves?"

"You never came here, did you?" Ozpin asked. Gray sighed and let go of Mason's grave.

"No. I haven't."

"Gray. Your father wanted me to bring you here so you can see." Gray sighed again. "...and to give you what he wanted to give you personally." Gray glances into Oz's eyes.

"What? What did he want to give me?" Ozpin turned around facing another person who came to visit this small cemetery.

Ironwood. He was holding a black gauntlet, it looked like it would cover his forearm. "Hello, Gray. Your father was a protector, he defended everyone and… he saved countless lives." Ironwood gave the gauntlet to Gray and the boy examined it further. There was a long black metal rectangular part that ran along the gauntlet. On the top part of the object, was a thin guard that was supposed to wrap around Gray's hand.

Ozpin spoke once again. "He wanted to give this to you when he could and knew you were ready, but due to circumstances, he wanted me to give to you. Please try it on." The boy slipped the object onto his right arm, the soft velvet covering his entire forearm. The guard seemed to fit perfectly in his hand. The gauntlet felt much heavier. "Press the button of the left side of the guard." Gray did as he was told and, the thing on his hand… changed.

The gauntlet kept its form but the black metal began to extend and extend and extend, to the left and to the right, up, down.

All the way until the thin metal on Gray's forearm, became a large tower shield, that could probably protect his whole body. Gray gasped at the sudden and smooth transformation, staring at its craftsmanship. The shield felt, right. Like it connected to him. "I…" The boy was speechless.

"It was used to save many, it saved my life on more than one occasion." Ozpin admitted. Finding buttons on the sides of the guard, Gray pressed on, and watched as the top half of the shield fell down slightly.

"Woah. Thanks, Oz."

"Mason was a great Hunter, along with your mother."

"Where's her weapon?" Gray asked.

"She wanted it to be buried with it. Gray, you can visit them at anytime. You know that right?" Gray nodded, taking everything in.

"I, uhhh….yeah. I know." Gray stared at their names before closing his eye. "I just miss them."

* * *

Later that day, Gray met up with the rest of his team, RWBY and JNPR. As expected, Ruby leaped on the boy. But when he didn't immediately hug her back, the girl pulled away, a small frown on her face. "Hey, what's wrong?"

The boy shook his head and put on a smile, a mixed emotion. "Nothing Ruby. I'm fine."

"Nope. I don't believe it." The friends and members of the two walked away or just stood there, interested. "You know I can tell when you're upset so just tell me." The girl stepped back, folding her arms. The boy flipped her hood over her head and sighed.

She did have a point.

"Pleeeeaaasse?" Gray snickered slightly and blinked.

"Alright." The boy gave in. He didn't even need to look at Ruby to see that she was happy. "I uh, visited my parents graves." Nia, Rhys, Ruby and Yang's eyes widened.

"Really?! Why?" Nia and Rhys asked.

"Oz took me with him, more so to talk about them and the little curse my family has."

"D-did he have a solution? As to why you 'zone out'?" The boy shook his head.

"He said like any other family this is bound to happen, all I can do is stay strong and be with the people I enjoy." Ruby slouched, eyes glancing at her boots.

"That doesn't help ease our worries." Gray patted her head.

"I don't think it can. All we can do is hope."

"But that's not fair! There has to be something!"

"Ruby." Yang mumbled, hand on her sister's shoulder.

"It isn't Yang!"

"You complaining about it isn't going to help Gray. Like he said all we can do is wait and hope. And have some faith! Gray's a strong guy, when he wants to be." That got a chuckle from Nia and Rhys.

"Thanks Yang." GRIN's leader sighed.

"No problem! But do you understand Ruby?" The little girl nodded, still upset though.

Her boyfriend poked her with a smile. "I also have my father's weapon!" Maybe that'll cheer her up.

The girl's silver eyes peeked a look at Gray before mumbling. "What is it?"

"I'll show you sometime. But hey let's not get all bummed okay? What's the next fight? Isn't 2v2's supposed to start today?"

"Mhm!" Nia giggled. "But! The last team fight is today and it's Catalina's team!"

"Speaking of it, the fights starting now." Rhys pointed to one of the tv's that were all over the stadium.

Catalina smirked at the other members of the team in front of her. "Easy."

"Keep your new found abilities secret Katherine."

"Yeah yeah. We'll just kick their butts! Em! Do me proud." Emerald nodded, a small smile on her face.

"Unbelievable, such a fangirl." Mercury sighed. The countdown reached zero and the impatient terrorist lunged at one of the many kids. Due to Katherine being… not her, she had to adopt a new weapon. Which she decided to pick a whip with barbed blades on it. The battle was completely one sided, and fairly brutal. Katherine, or Catalina, basically tortured her opponent, while Cinder assisted her. Emerald took on two and was winning, by a long shot and Mercury was… standing there. His target was taken care of fairly early and so he watched Katherine cleave at this poor student of Atlas.

Poor kids didn't stand a chance. Kath almost felt bad but this was way too much fun. "Unbelievable! Team PRBM can't seem to throw a single attack. Team CCEM is just too much for them!"

"I will say that PRBM is fighting an uphill battle! If the hill a 120 degrees!" Oobleck and Port shouted. The fight drew to a close with PRBM's members all without Aura and CCEM's with most of theirs. "Team CCEM is showing a lot of promise out there! We'll see what they do in the doubles round!" Ruby turned away from the tv slightly intimidated.

"Man CCEM is really good. What if they beat us?" Gray ruffled her hair and the girl pouted.

"I swear, you need to go with the flow."

"I wanna win!" Ruby stomped, huffing in the process.

"Eh, I don't really care too much, you tryhard." Nia slung an arm around Gray, basically saying 'yes I clearly don't care either'.

"I'd like to win guys." Rhys sighed.

"Yeah but three beats one Rhys, you've been outvoted." Iris said, as she brung the rest of the bunch. Rhys groaned. Weiss chuckled and rubbed his back.

"Don't worry Rhys. When we win I'll think about you okay?"

"Thanks. That'll really help my mood." Weiss giggled and softly shoved the boy. In the background, Ruby watched the two before dragging her boyfriend down to whisper in his ear.

"Don't you wish that they'd date already?"

"Yep. Every freaking day."

"Like they're perfect for each other. I'm jealous!" Ruby puffed her cheeks.

"You are so dumb. You know you're in a relationship right?"

"Yeah, but it isn't the same!" Gray grabbed her face, puckered her lips and grinned.

"Not the same huh?" Ruby hummed while continuing to look at him. "Follow me dummy."

"Uhh, o-okay." The boy kissed her nose, and the younger squealed, her sound being masked by Weiss and Rhys' 'flirting'. Nobody even saw them disappear! At least, nobody did that cared really.

"Oh, look Gray and Ruby are running off again." Nia pointed out.

"We care why?" Iris asked.

"You know what?" Iris stared at her girlfriend, waiting for a response. "Your right. Probably don't wanna go back to the dorm anytime soon."

"Nia… why..?" Iris cried, trying to get such an image out of her mind.

As Gray and Ruby walked away, burning red eyes peered at the two leaders, snicker echoing lowly.

"Little Beast."


	16. Mo' Fights Mo' Problems

The next day was the off day for the doubles rounds. GRIN had their two set and now they had to wait for the girl's turn. Their leader awoke with his basic struggle. His eye opened and he felt short of breath, his breathing was fine but it didn't feel like it was enough. His muscles felt like they were on fire…

But nothing was wrong. The boy raked his hair, feeling his slightly hidden ears. Or at least the base of one and an actual ear. The boy slung himself out of his bed, grabbing a bottle of water from the mini-fridge that Nia and Iris smuggled. Random dehydration was another side effect of Gray's problem. His sharpened teeth pricked his lips, cutting them. The boy sighed.

This had to stop soon.

"Gray? Why are you up so early?" The GRIN leader turned around to see his male counterpart Rhys. "Trouble sleeping?"

" **Som** ethin **g Li** k **e** **T** h **a** t." Gray's friend hummed.

"That type of trouble then." Gray nodded, and sat on his bed, rubbing the base of his used to be, long ear.

"This ne **e** ds **T** **o** **St** op s **oo** n."

"I know, we're doing everything we can to help. What about Ruby? Does she know everything?"

"I… maybe? **S** he saw these happen w **he** n we were **yo** unger but less… violent. And after what h **appen** ed at the Breach. S **ure** ly she knows."

"Ruby can be dense. Surely you know that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rhys grinned at his leader.

"She never laughs at Nia and Iris' jokes, and… I'm sure in some instances she's dense."

"Wha-, oh my god. Rhys, you're stupid." The two laughed at the sad truth. "Don't think of anything too crazy. She's wayyy too innocent. Although she did slip up one time…"

"Uh-uh. I don't need specifics in your silly love life." Gray chuckled.

"You asked." Rhys sighed and rubbed Gray's back before walking to his own bed.

"Don't worry Gray. You have plenty of people to watch your back." Gray smiled but frowned shortly.

"It's not that what I'm worried about."

"What are you worried about then?" Rhys asked.

"Of not being in control and doing something drastic. Of leaving Ruby. What if I can't recover? What if I'm executed like my parents? What will happen to you guys? To Ruby?"

"Gray slow down. God, don't think about that, it'll just make you worse. We can't do much. All we can do is wait and see." Gray nodded meekly.

"I'm scared, Rhys."

"Trust me, your not the only one. We all are. Nia, Iris, Ozpin and everyone else are scared for you. I'm sure Yang is more scared for her little sister." Rhys didn't know what to say. He did his research and there wasn't anything. The best thing that Gray could do was be with the ones he holds dear and hope that things will work out. "Gray just… give Ruby all the love you have. That's the best that we can do."

"Yeah, I know Rhys. It's like flipping a coin. I've embraced that already but, whenever these moments happen, I start to overthink and panic." Rhys hummed in understanding.

"Gray trust me, this will get better. I'll find a way no matter what. I'll do anything." Gray smiled.

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to. You're like a brother to me. A brother I never had but always wanted. So, don't tell me I don't have to. Because I've already made up my mind for you." Gray cast his eyes to the floor. He never had a sibling or even a brother.

The cursed boy smiled, Rhys was older than him too.

Big bro Rhys, that's funny.

"Thank you, Rhys. I mean it. But…"

"But?"

"If I'm unable to be saved. I want you guys to put me down. I don't want Ruby to see."

"It won't come to that Gray." Another voice chimed in, Nia's.

"Yeah, we won't give up Gray. Not until we get our dorky leader back." Iris added. The three gave off grins, staring at their leader. Lastly, they all spoke simultaneously.

"Trust us."

* * *

Gray smiled, thinking about last night. He couldn't do much but believe in them. But, since last night, his hearing had been acting up. At times there would be a deafening silence, and other times it'll sound like he's underwater. One of his teeth would sharpen.

Things weren't looking good.

"G…raa…" The boy glanced up to see Nia's lips moving but barely anything was heard.

"Hmm?" Nia frowned, a rare thing to ever see on her face. Her lips moved again but this time only a few words came through.

Barely.

"What?" The boy 'laughed', maybe she'll think he's playing.

"You can't hear me can you?"

"I can now. Sorry, Nia. Maybe having me in this fight wasn't the best idea."

"Don't say that. Besides we all took a vote and you even voted for yourself." The boy chuckled, switching his weapon through its variations.

"Yeah, we had a broken voting system." The blonde gave a light punch on Gray's shoulder.

"Hey, we'll get this done with smiles on our faces, just like we usually do. Okay?" Gray smiled and hugged the girl, picking her off the floor in the process. After putting her down Nia jumped and grabbed her scroll. "Picture! Smile~!"

The two posed and scanned the picture. Nia held the scroll out and stuck her tongue out to the left while throwing a piece sign. Gray was behind her with a smile on his face, you could barely see the base of his ear due to his height. "Awesome! Now let's win this thing!" As Nia shouted enthusiastically Port followed up with his own commentary.

"And with that team, HORN loses to team PLAY! What an astonishing fight. Each side did well so congrats to both pairs of students." Port said.

"Indeed! And now time for the pair representing team GRIN, which would be Nia May and… Gray." The pause on Gray's name confused Ruby. "Ahem, versus! The pair representing team NOPE with they're own partners, Nikolaus Hodrick and Ornstein Vilen."

"Team GRIN has made quite a name for themselves after they're last team fight, right Bart?"

"Yes, indeed friend! They certainly like to end in 'style'. And these two, Nia and Gray are the most… 'stylish' if you say."

"They might have a tough time with Nikolaus and Ornstein…" As Ruby tuned out the two teachers she dashed over to the various stands surrounding the arena. She loved to see Gray fight and actually use his weapon. It was such a cool design! It was just like Crescent Rose but cooler! The girl yawned briefly, stretching as well.

"Aww is someone tired?" Ruby sighed before turning around. "And right when her boyfriend's fight is about to start."

"No Catalina I'm fine." The blonde giggled and folded her arms.

"I'm only teasing Ruby." Ruby smiled… it was fake of course. She was slowly disliking Catalina more and more, she was really buddy-buddy with Gray and Ruby didn't like it.

At.

All.

"Your good at that." The small leader said.

"It's my specialty. Excited? We don't get to see Gray fight often."

"Of course I'm excited! I just hope he doesn't overexert himself and end up getting hurt."

"We both wouldn't want that to happen although we'd be worried for a different reason?" Catalina's eyes burned with her slyness. Ruby laughed lowly, slightly rolling her eyes as the line moved ahead.

"That's right. I care for my big boy."

"It must be tough for you, to see what he's going through?" Ruby stared into Catalina's eyes, watching them flicker like a flame.

"What? What's wrong with Gray?" Catalina's eyes widened in fake surprise. She watched the girl's form slump a bit.

"Ooh, he might be hiding something from you. Knowing him it's probably for your own good. I'm sorry you had to find out this way." Catalina rubbed the smaller girls back, then walked off.

"Is Gray hiding something from me?" Ruby grabbed her hood and ran her fingers on it. "No, he wouldn't do that…" The fifteen-year-old bought some beverages and snacks before walking back. Iris and Yang saw the girl arrive and snatched some food out from her hands.

Doing a double take the two girls noticed Ruby look a little upset. "Rubes? What's wrong?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, you look more upset when Gray had to leave you after the dance." Iris said with food in her mouth, only to receive an elbow by Weiss who was then shoved lightly by Rhys.

"Uh, Catalina has me thinking. Is Gray hiding something from us? Rhys, Iris? Is he hiding something from you guys too?"

"Uhh, no. I'm sure he'd tell us if anything was wrong." Iris responded really quickly.

"Ja, I'm sure he's fine Ruby. Although he might need some love later." Rhys winked while trying to move Ruby's train of thought into something up her alley? Honestly, Rhys didn't know Ruby all too well.

"Also Ruby, you hate Catalina. Why would you believe her? Judging by your small brain you think she's trying to take Gray from you." Rhys frowned and flicked Weiss.

"Why are you so mean?" Weiss held her forehead in small pain.

"It was a joke, Rhys!"

"Wasn't very funny." Her team mumbled.

"Well, that's because all of you don't get my humor."

"Your humor is mostly being rude."

"Oh, what was that Rhys?" Weiss said, holding a hand to her ear. "What did you say?"

"I said pay attention to the fight Weiss. It's starting."

That managed to distract Ruby, as the two teams met, Rhys thought about how Ruby thought about Gray's condition. How the hell did Catalina tell Ruby? He had to keep an eye on that blonde girl. She's really fishy, but for now, he was gonna enjoy watching his friends fight.

Gray slung his axe on his shoulder and walked ahead of Nia, who had her weapons split. Their adversaries for the day had normal looking weapons. Orenstein had a rapier, and along the blade were small cuts, like it could be split, Nia took that into thought. Nikolaus had large metallic boxing gloves, wiring ran up the man's arms and stopped at his shoulders. Gray and Nia grinned at the NO of NOPE. Gray offered a hand, which Orenstein took. Afterward, the two teams stepped back and got into their stances.

"It seems the combatants know who they're going to be fighting. Gray with Nikolaus and Nia against Orenstein!"

"That's right Bart. The Boxer versus The Unpredictable and The Samurai, of sorts, versus The Musketeer. This'll be an interesting fight." Timers showed up along the open arena and as they ticked down, most of the spectators that went to Beacon were at the edge of they're seats. The students supported each team even when the occasional Beacon teams had to fight each other.

As the timers slowly ticked down faster and faster the environment changed to a forest, with tall grass and bushes and trees.

The timers hit zero, and the combatants began their duel. Gray, sprinted to Nikolaus the boxer, switching to the more collapsed and quick form of Broken Stem. The boy slashed through the air as Nikolaus bounced his way out of danger and jabbed Gray in the side. Recovering, Gray dashed again and swiped at Nikolaus once again, actually making contact, but only on his adversary's glove. Nikolaus blocked Gray's onslaught of attacks, both the oppressor and the oppressed have their guards up. Gray stepped back every so slightly and slashed across Nikolaus' body, intentionally missing Nikolaus took this as a opportunity to step up, the power of Gray's attack has his back toward him. However, Nikolaus tuned out the various noises of Gray's weapon, not realizing he had transformed it into the axe form. Gray turned back around with aggression, slamming Nikolaus in the side, launching him back.

The boxer rolled on the ground, but quickly recovered and landed on his feet before throwing a punch. His metallic glove launched out from his hand and flew straight towards Gray. Said boy grabbed the glove and tossed it aside. Nikolaus grinned and clenched his gloveless hand. Suddenly, a blunt metallic object slammed into Gray before flying returning onto the now, covered hand. Stand up once again, Gray cursed under his breath, feeling his teeth against his lips.

Meanwhile with Nia, she danced around Orenstein, however neither of them could land a blow on each other. Perfect defense on either side. However, once Nia maneuvered her way behind Orenstein, she slashed across him with both of her blades, only to be stopped. Orenstein stepped back and now Nia could see what his rapier really had. The weapon had split into four smaller blades and one additional one on the hilt. The other three hovered in the air, similar to Rhys' prototype. "Crap…" Nia said while cartwheeling from harms way.

Just like Rhys' equipment, the blades hovered back to Orenstein, who bounced on his heels while tossing the hilt back and forth between hands. With a jab of the hilt, the blades circled around together before pointing at Nia. They then launched toward her, to which she deflected albeit barely. Deeper into the forest, yells could be heard and trees were falling. "Gray is causing all sorts of destruction trying to get Nikolaus!"

"Yes, like we said before, team NOPE will definitely say 'nope' to an easy win!" As Oobleck finished Nikolaus leaped out of the tuffs of tall grass and just behind him was Gray, axe slung over his shoulder. With one arm Gray tossed Broken Stem and with a quick 'donk' the pommel of the axe smashed into the back of Nikolaus' head, knocking him off his feet.

GRIN's leader rushed the recovering boy and before tackling him hard and grasping the boy's legs, after rolling Gray landed on his feet the threw the boxer causing him to smash into a tree and breaking through it. Gray then grabbed Broken Stem again and ran after Nikolaus, that was before he smashed his axe into Orenstein, or at least scraped him.

With Orenstein distracted, Nia tripped him and cut and slashed, getting good hits on him, until fleeing and gaining distance.

Nikolaus dug himself out from a dented tree, his doing, and just in time to duck from Gray's attack. The leader cleaved the tree in two and tripped on it, Nikolaus kept his distance, Gray was acting like an animal. " **Gr** ah **hh!** " Gray leaped at the boy again and punched him hard, before losing his balance again. Nikolaus recovered and wailed on Gray blocking perfectly and countering the predictable attacks. Gray shook the boy off and held his head in pain, shaking off whatever he was feeling. After returning to reality, Gray saw his opponent rush him and finish him with a hard uppercut, launching the leader into a tree.

"And like that, GRIN's leader has been defeated! What was going on in his head? He was behaving so irrationally!"

Rhys and Iris watched they're leader writhe in both physical and mental pain and they couldn't do a thing. "Guys? What's wrong with Gray? He's kinda acting like how he was during the Breach. What's going on?" Ruby asked.

"We wished we knew the same." Iris lied, it's sucked to lie but what else could she do right now? "Lets hope Nia can clutch this."

Nikolaus ran to Orenstein's aid, causing Nia to frown. She sheathed her dagger and held her katana above her head, her other hand holding the near tip of the blade. Nikolaus ran up to her and jabbed but, Nia stepped to the side and slashed deep into him, knocking the boy back, and just in time to dodge Orenstein's blades. GRIN's samurai battled NOPE's boxer and his musketeer and surprisingly, she was winning. "Holy moly. Nia is going off!" Yang laughed.

"She's the best out of all of us honestly. You haven't even seen her Semblance."

"Oh man I can't wait!" The fight was starting to draw to a close, both teams were getting low on Aura and combined, Orenstein and Nikolaus barely had enough Aura to top Nia's. Nikolaus was beginning to get desperate, how the hell was this girl beating two people?! His anger was getting the best of him and he began to rush her more, and his jabs began to get more predictable. Nia stepped forward and ducked, before swiping his feet out from under him. Stuck in mid air, Nikolaus had to watch as Nia kicked him into Orenstein after taking a few hits by his blades. Niko impacted Orenstein and began to fall down…

However…

As Ruby spectated the fight she watched as Nia stood a few feet away from them and… in one second she was behind Orenstein, said boy on the ground and Nikolaus was where she was beforehand. And in that same second, Orenstein and Nikolaus went from one-fourth of Aura to zero. "Inconceivable! In one second, Nia May has taken out the remainder of Orenstein and Nikolaus' Aura! She's won it for team GRIN!" Port screamed in joy.

"Wha?! How?! How'd she do that?!" Ruby and Weiss stammered. Iris snickered.

"That's her semblance. She can stop time briefly for about for about three or four seconds. Yeah I thought that was crazy overpowered too." Ruby tried too listen but was too distracted seeing people escort Gray off the field.

"Gray…" Ruby walked away, leaving the group confused.

"Uh Ruby?" Yang called.

"She's probably going to get Gray, I wonder what's wrong with him." Blake murmured.

"Yeah…"

* * *

Gray held his head, trying to recover fully. He had lost control that whole fight, he was lucky his ear wasn't showing or things would've been bad. He groaned in pain, god damn his head was killing him! "….ray? Gra..! Gray!" Ruby? Gray turned around to see her running to him. "Are you okay? You look like you really hurt your head."

"I' **m** **Fi** ne. Just bumped my head is all." Ruby poured.

"I don't bel…. you. C..e on, I'm taking you .o .. room. We're gonna relax ... cuddle. It... be great! You'll love i.! You ... .. anywa.s." Gray smiled.

"I'm sure I will." Ruby, led the boy as a blonde woman stood in the hallway further behind.

Katherine, or Catalina clenched her fists, flickering flames touching her fingers.

"It was a good fight, Gray."

"I didn't do anything."

"Well, .. lea.. you …, right?"

"What?" Gray asked. He felt awful, all because of that damn curse.

"At least you won right?"

"Yeah. Just wish I could contribute more." Ruby smiled.

"It's okay, Gra… look. Once we ..t to .y r..m eve…. will be fine."

"O-okay." This is awful.

This is awful.

* * *

Katherine walked back to her spot, next to Cinder, who watch the other two versus twos. "He's really starting to lose it."

"Is that so?" Cinder perked a smile.

"Yeah, I feel kinda bad. Should I feel bad? I feel like I should feel bad." The woman rolled her eyes, ignoring the blonde's small giggles. "How's the rest of KING doing?"

"From what I've been told, they're just like you now." Katherine smiled.

"Awesome! We'll be able to stop those kids for good."

"You better." Kath thought about her team, and if they were okay with what's going on.

"How did Nyla take the thing?"

"She was annoyed, wondering why she needed to be injected with Dust."

"She has a reason to be mad, Nyla cares about us more than pay or what we could gain. Injecting Dust can be scary." Cinder rolled her eyes.

"She needs to understand what's the big picture."

"Cin, even I don't know what's the big picture." Cinder scoffed.

"You don't need to know Kath. You trust me right?"

Katherine nodded slowly, watching the last few rounds of two versus two. "Trust?"

Katherine didn't know what to think now.


	17. Shit Hits The Fan

Ruby was a little concerned, the whole walk to her dorm Gray seemed off. Her techniques of making him better weren't really working. Finally they reached the door to Ruby's place and she smoothly opened the door and pulled Gray in, closing it once he was inside. Zwei barked happily to see Ruby but whined when Zwei saw Gray in his condition. Ruby pushed Gray down onto Weiss' bed and bent down facing him and crouching on the floor.

"Weiss wouldn't like me on her bed."

"Nope it's fine."

"Ruby, what's your fine with Weiss?" Ruby smiled sheepishly and handed Gray her Scroll.

 _Ruby: Heyyyyyyy buddy ;)_

 _Best Buddy: What Ruby? Aren't you hugging faces with Gray?_

 _Ruby: Nope I'm taking care of him_

 _Best Buddy: Oh, well if he's going to sit anywhere make sure you clean up his mess. He didn't look well after the fight._

 _Ruby: Yes Ma'am!_

"See? We're good!" Ruby beamed.

"Great, now Weiss is worried about me."

"Every… is! That figh. ..ally took a toll on you."

"Well, that's why I'm not the best fighter. That's Nia's job." Ruby giggled.

"Yeah, she's really humble but talented. Who knows she might give Pyrrha some trouble." Ruby chuckled to herself as she stared at her boyfriend. Something about him like this made her frown. Catalina… darn her, she has Ruby second guessing.

"Something wrong Ruby?" Gray asked as he rubbed his eye.

"Hmm? Oh! No, well… not really."

"Talk to me." The boy gave a weak smile, trying to make her cheer up.

"Well…" Ruby twiddled with her thumbs as she got on her knees in front of Gray, the crouching stance was getting tiring. "Catalina talked to me today. She was all like; 'Maybe Gray is hiding something from you' and all that." She spoke in a sensual voice when reciting Catalina's words. "And that it's probably for my own good. Is… is that true?" Ruby stared into Gray's as the room's corgi waddled around before jumping on Weiss' bed.

Can he keep lying to her? Was he still lying? He didn't want to hurt her. But what if this'll hurt her more?

Gray sighed, ducking his head in shame. "I can't do it anymore."

"Do what? Are you hiding something?" Ruby sounded nervous. "Gray please talk to me, I'm scared. Does it have anything to do with us? Did I mess up?"

"No." Gray said sternly. "No it's not that. More so it's about me and what happened to my parents." Ruby eyes widened but she stayed silent. "When school first started I had problems. Those problems being small symptoms of what happened to my parents. My uh…" Gray's throat went dry. "My mind is slowly being rendered to that of a canine. And I don't think I can do anything to stop it." Ruby's lips moved into a hard frown, she then leaped into the boy, hugging him and hiding her face . "The-the reason why I didn't tell you was because I was scared. Scared of this. Telling you and seeing you like this. It breaks my heart to see you like this over me. I don't want you to be upset. All I want is for you to be happy. You know?"

Ruby buried herself deeper into Gray's chest.

"I've been trying to fight it for this long. But I think I'm at my breaking point. It's so hard. But your my motivation Ruby, I don't want to see you broken and sad because of me." The boy rubbed Ruby's back as she took in all the information. "And… I'm scared. I really am. Last time I barely had any control, and during the fight I'm surprised nothing slipped. I'm terrified of that happening again, of becoming some mix of a bunch of canine descendants, I'm scared of losing myself and unable to come back. But most importantly…" Gray pulled the girl and made her face him. "I'm scared of you seeing that, of everyone seeing what I truly am. Just some mutant or freak."

"Don't say that Gray. Y-you aren't a monster or a freak!" Ruby, held the boy's face as Zwei perked up by her outburst. "Never say that! No matter what your still a person, you have feelings and you've known from right and wrong!"

"Not for long Ruby. Soon I'll only have the brain of a wolf or something."

"I don't care! That won't happen, I won't allow it, none of us will! We'll take care of you and make sure nothing happens! You won't be some monster and you never were one Gray. You the guy that I really truly love and I'm not going to allow you to belittle yourself." The girl pulled his head to her chest, rubbing his back and playing with his, now evident long wolf ear. "I love you Gray." Ruby cooed.

Gray sat there, listening to Ruby's heartbeat, slowly relaxing him. "I… thank you Ruby. I-I love you too." Ruby held the boy's face and grinned, her smile warming her boyfriend's heart. The little leader closed her eyes and she kissed Gray, a soft but meaningful kiss. She then pulled away and smooched his forehead before hugging his head again. All the while Gray sat there, recovering, still stunned by Ruby's promises and what she said.

It's hopeless.

* * *

"So what's going on here? One versus ones are starting tonight and I need answers." Kath spoke folding her arms as Cinder looked through notes.

"Okay then. The plan is this. I need to kill the fall Maiden. In order to do that, I need to find where she actually is, she's in the school grounds, most likely a sub basement area. And with some information provided by Emerald, team GRIN's friend Pyrrha Nikos has been distant recently." Cheers throughout the stadium as the final few were shown.

"What? You think she's the next Maiden or something?" The announcers had revealed who the first combatants were. Yang and Mercury.

"Along those lines. And with information provided by you from the dance way back when-"

"Your welcome by the way." Kath giggled. Mercury's fight with Yang was just underway.

"We found out that a 'student' here is actually an android."

"Cool. So what?" Katherine said as she sat down in a chair. Cinder scoffed.

"Oh my… Pyrrha has the semblance of polarity."

"What?" Cinder held her head in her hands. "I'm just joking. So, how do you know that they're gonna fight each other and how are we gonna use Pyrrha's semblance on the android?"

"You'll see. What about our resident Beast? Is he a lost cause yet?" Kath sighed.

"Just about. Hopefully he won't be a problem when shit hits the fan." Cinder hummed.

"Make sure when everything does happen, you make sure those kids are dead. I'm tired of them interrupting things."

"Yeah yeah, yes ma'am."

"I'm serious, Katherine. I gave you and the rest of KING those Dust injections so you'll have an easier time on killing them."

"Is that why you gave us these?" Kath gave Cinder a coy smile.

"Yes. Because your clearly incompetent on killing fifteen to seventeen years old kids."

"Ouch. Okay then point taken." Katherine stared at her hands, scanning her fingertips. The power inside her was strong and dangerous. She couldn't lose herself when everything falls apart. She traced her index finger to on of her veins. The Dust in her body flowed through like a clot. Katherine snapped her fingers, sparks coming from the action. She did it again and held her thumb and middle finger together, fire started at her fingertips. Cinder glared at her before scoffing.

"Get used to it. Because it's not going away." Cinder analyzed the fight and stood up. "Go back to the dorm, our time is almost up.

* * *

Ruby escorted Gray back to his dorm and gave him a kiss goodbye before heading back. The boy watched her walk away and smiled when she winked at his direction before returning to her dorm. Gray opened his door, meeting the eyes of the two girls of GRIN. "Gray! How are you feeling?" Nia asked worried.

"Yeah, that fight was a little rough."

Gray raked his hair as he looked at them.

" **I'm** falling apart. That fight is making things worse. I-I need to talk to **Oz**. I think I need to be contained." Nia's eyes widened as she gasped, Iris joining her. The two sat on Nia's bed and Gray sat on his own.

"What?! No! We-we can't! He'll kill you! We can't let that happen!" Iris denied. "Your-your not dying! We aren't giving you away to your death!"

Gray yelped in pain by Iris' yelling.

"I'm sorry Gray! But, we can't!" The opening and closing of the dorm door brought the trio's attention to Rhys.

"Can't what?" He asked.

" **Give** me t **o** Oz." Gray said.

"He's been getting worse and we don't know what to do!" Nia explained. Rhys exhaled, shaking his head.

"Well, if this is happening what the hell else will we do? Put me in a cage here and feed me? Make sure I don't keel over and die?! Guys just take me to Oz!"

"You'll die!"

" **At Least I Won't Be A Damn Burden!** " Gray screamed. " **If** I die… if **I** die I won't be a problem anymore. You won't have to worry about me."

"But Ruby…"

"Guys… please…" Gray begged staring into all of their eyes, tears at the tipping point. "Please…" Nia covered her face hiding the tears that were already falling. "Who knows… they might have an actual solution. Keep your hopes up, ah!" The boy clutched his head, growling uncontrollably. Rhys rushed to Gray's side, Iris joining him.

"We'll take him. Nia you can stay here."

"No… I'll come." Nia sniffed while wiping tears out from her eyes. Together, GRIN left their dorm. "I'll call Ozpin too. He needs to know." Gray hung his head low, as his friends helped him.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry… you have to go through this." As they left the dorms, already they could see Ozpin, Glynda and Qrow.

"GRIN…" Ozpin started as Qrow took Gray from Rhys and Iris. "I am so very deeply sorry about this. We'll do everything to-"

"Please." Rhys cut him off, balling his hands into fists. "Take care of him." Iris pulled Nia into a hug as she continued to weep.

Glynda placed a hand on Nia in order to comfort her. Ozpin glanced at Gray, scanning his condition.

He was in bad shape. His ear was as clear as the open night sky, his teeth pricked his lips and poked out at times. The boy whimpered, muttering, and growling. Ozpin then returned his gaze to Rhys and the remainder of GRIN.

"We will." This was all too familiar to Ozpin. Qrow began to walk away with Gray, Glynda following and soon Ozpin.

"Come on." Rhys sighed, voice wavering. Iris lead Nia back to the dorms as Rhys stared at the people that took his leader, his brother away from him. Quickly he wiped away the tears and followed the girls.

* * *

The next day wasn't the best. Yang was disqualified from the tournament. Ruby, Weiss and Blake tried to comfort Yang but all attempts were useless. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Opening it, Ruby was greeted by her uncle, Qrow. He looked tired, did he sleep at all last night? "Uncle Qrow!" Her hoodie bounced with enthusiasm.

"How is she?" Ruby frowned. Qrow sighed heavily. "Come on. You girls get out for a while. I need to talk to her."

"You sure?" Qrow nodded. "Uh, okay. Come on guys." The little leader then turned to Qrow. "Thanks."

"Get outta here you little brat." Ruby, Blake and Weiss left the dorms, seeking something to do.

"Wanna go to the stadium? The fights will be starting soon." Weiss offered. Ruby and Blake scanned the campus, not responding to the heiress. "Okay, just ignore me then." Across the campus, Ruby saw Pyrrha.

She looked upset.

"Pyrrha!" Either she didn't hear Ruby or ignored her, Pyrrha continued to walk away until she was out of sight. "Oh darn it." Turning back to look at the dorm, the trio saw the trio of GRIN. They looked just as tired. "Hey guys!" The three of them jumped by Ruby's yell. As Ruby ran over Nia turned to face the girl. Ruby frowned when she saw Nia's eyes.

They were so puffy and bloodshot and her hair was lazily put together. The discovery caused Ruby to slow down a bit. "Nia?" The three stared at Ruby before walking away, leaving Ruby upset and confused. "What was that about?" She asked as Weiss and Blake caught up.

"I have no clue. They looked miserable." Blake thought out loud.

"Yeah. Come on let's head to the fairgrounds." Weiss sighed. Ruby continued to watch RIN, Iris rubbed Nia's back. "Ruby!" Said girl turned to see her teammates walking away.

"C-coming!" Ruby walked backwards, taking one last glance at RIN before catching up to her friends.

* * *

Ozpin sighed, adjusting his glasses. In front of him, was a cell. And inside it was Gray. "I... failed you Gray. Failed your family even." The boy in front of him snapped his head up, eye just how it looked during the Breach.

" **You Didn't Fail Me.** "

"On the contrary, I truly have. I've failed your family. Three times over." Gray growled.

" **Oz… Stop. You Did All. Don't Blame Yourself. Out Of Control."** Ozpin held his head in his hands. Just with Mason and Delilah. He looks just like them. Sounds just like them. History was repeating itself and it made Ozpin sick. **"** **Oz. You're A Good Man**."

"You don't know everything about me."

" **Not My Business. All I Know Is Person In Front Of Me. He's Good.** " Silence washed over the room. " **Where Are We?** "

"Below my office." Gray scoffed and snickered at Ozpin. The smile was a weird one, it looked that of a psychopath.

" **No Shit.** " The older man chuckled as he regained his composure.

"We're next to the tower, don't worry. Nothing too crazy."

" **My Team?** "

"They're well. Tonight is the continuation of the one versus one."

" **Are You Going To Be Watching?** "

"No I have more pressing matters." Ozpin said as he stood up. By the look Gray was giving him Oz would've Gray got excited.

 **"Ab** ou **t?"** The headmaster of Beacon sighed.

"It's hard to explain. I'll see you tonight. The tv will be broadcasting the one versus ones."

" **Bye.** " The boy sounded sad, almost whimpering. It reminded Ozpin of a small puppy seeing it's owner leave. The man left Gray, leaving him with nothing but replays of the past fights and recaps and discussions and all this other crap.

The boy looked at his hands before rubbing his shoulders, feeling a cold draft. The exit of Ozpin echoed in Gray's ear. The boy exhaled, whining like a little dog. Feeling a itch, the boy scratched the back of his ear and the base of his other. Afterward…damn it… the boy looked at the tv, seeing a recap of GRIN's time within the tournament. It made him smile.

They had small clips of them posing for Nia's pictures and with each clip Gray looked worse and worse, slouching more and all that.

Damn, this hit him like a truck. Just a few days ago everything was fine. Back then he was ready to put his whole heart into the tournament, and look what's happening now. Caged like a damn animal. The boy sighed. It was for the best. If he snapped, who knows who he could've attacked. The boy recalled last night.

Nia… she was devastated. Iris was at her breaking point and Rhys… Gray could see past that wall. His team, his family. He won't see them again. The door opened to Gray's 'prison'. Glancing away from the TV the boy saw his girlfriends uncle. "Hey." The man held his fathers weapon before giving it to the boy.

" **H…Hey.** " It was getting difficult to speak. His voice was becoming more snarly and barking-like.

"I'm sorry about how things are." Qrow sat down in front of Gray as said boy held his head in his hands.

" **Rrrr…** "

"It must be a nightmare for you. I'm sure Ozpin already said but we're sorry for failing you."

" **Rrrrrrr…** " Gray snarled shaking his head wildly. "… it's Fine. I understand." The two turned to the one TV in the room, it was now time for the next one versus one. " **Pyrrha?** And **Penny?** "

"Yeah. Interesting matchup." Gray grunted into agreement rubbing his forehead. "Do you need anything?" Gray groaned and barked before shaking his head. Qrow sighed. "Okay."

* * *

Ruby was really worried.

Like really worried.

Things were falling apart. Yang was disqualified and she was really upset, well, everyone was. And… Catalina and them had left. Good riddance in Ruby's opinion.

She hasn't seen Gray all day, and his team looks miserable. It scared her… what if…

"Ruby! Come on the fight's about to start." Weiss beckoned the little girl. Walking along the various long lines, the trio found they're seats and took them.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen!" Port shouted. Here we go.

"And welcome back to the one versus ones!" Oobleck finished. "Without further hesitation! Let's start the next fight, which is my companion?"

"Why Pyrrha Nikos versus Penny Polendina! Penny seems ready to get this underway, while Pyrrha seems a little distracted don't you say?" Ruby stared at one of the hovering TV's that zoomed on Pyrrha's distant face. Tuning out the countdown, Ruby saw Rhys not too far away from her and her team. She needed to talk with him. Getting up Ruby rushed up the steps also ignoring Weiss' yells. The girl was in a rush so she jogged to a door. The corridor was for employees only but, she was in a rush! Opening the door the girl walked through the corridor.

It felt… hot… unsettlingly hot for a hallway. Running to the end, Ruby saw familiar blonde hair and fox ears. "Catalina?" The girl turned around and smiled. Ruby scanned her body, seeing familiar… really familiar. No…

"Ruby!" Catalina snickered, eyes burning with lies and deceit. Ruby stared at her… restraints for her, whips. Wide-eyed Ruby gasped. Confused, Catalina looked down before realizing what was up. "Ooooh. The jig is up now." The temperature in the hallway seemed to get worse. Small fires, engulfed Catalin-Katherine's hands. "Time for some fun."

Cata-Kath fired one whip-hook towards the leader which Ruby dodged out of the way. However, Katherine fired another and whipped Ruby across the face. Fire slapped the girl and a small explosion launched her back. Ruby struggled to get up as Katherine giggled. "Woah! These have some power to them!" Ruby had to escape.

Turning around, Ruby sprinted back the way she came, rushing to get away from the psycho. Katherine propelled herself with her hooks, surprisingly catching up to Ruby the woman whipped her across the back, tripping her before landing on the small girl, sliding her across the floor. "You wanna leave? Fine." Katherine then grabbed Ruby and kicked her before snapping her fingers in front of her. Another, larger explosion launched Ruby out of the hallway, breaking the door off its hinges and causing smoke to blow out of the entrance. Ruby groaned she needed to find help! She patted out the small fires that singed her hoodie Gray gave her.

Her ears were deaf from the explosion but, around her was screaming. Turning towards the arena, the little leader saw… Pyrrha and… bits and pieces of gears and mechanical parts… and Penny head. Wait! Penny?! "Penny!" Ruby screamed. As her ears recovered she heard all the panic and… roars. The girl also saw Grimm fly past and into the colosseum. Griffons descended onto some bystanders, picking them up, swallowing them whole or dropping them on accident.

"Oh shit." Katherine gasped. Before the woman left, she whipped Ruby, blasting her into the center of the arena. Soon after a Griffon grabbed the little girl and pinned her next to Pyrrha. The thing wasn't paying attention to her but it screeched at Pyrrha. Another landed close by and stared at Ruby confused. It knew she wasn't dead. Quickly, suddenly and abruptly, somehow both Griffons lost they're heads and fell over. In the mist stood Nia angry and still upset. "Th-thank you." Pyrrha said for the both of them.

Soon after Rhys and Iris showed up, Rhys helping Ruby off her feet. "What the fuck is happening?!" Nia yelled.

"C-c-Catalina is Katherine!" Ruby sputtered. Rhys stared at Ruby and sighed.

"Damn it." Rhys cursed.

"Guys! We have more! Snap out of it Ruby we have to protect ourselves!" Iris ordered. More Griffons showed up swarming the five, however gunfire and explosions caused few of the flock to fall. Other students from other schools came to assist the five, slaying they're problems. After all of the flock was slain, the students stood together breathing and recovering.

"What, what do we do?!" Jaune asked panicked. "Everything is going wrong! They're Grimm at Beacon, monsters killing innocents in Vale! What do we do?!"

"First things first." Ruby said, she then called her locker, which deployed and opened up to the sight of Crescent Rose. "We get off of this thing." The group of students all nodded and ran to the nearest exit. Emergency vehicles and other transport services left, taking civilians and tourists out and away. Atlas Knights fought off the swarming Grimm and along with them, was Ironwood. He fired, destroying anything that got too close. "General Ironwood!" Ruby shouted getting his attention. "What do we do?" Ironwood glanced at all the kids, focusing more so on Rhys, Iris and Nia.

"It's your choices. This is bad. An obvious thing to admit but it's true. Vale is at the point of falling and it happened when we had our pants down. What you students do is up to all of you. Stand and fight and do the job you've been training for, or run to safety. No matter the choice, no one will blame you." Rhys glared at the General.

"James! Where are you going? What's your plan?" The man turned back as Knights formed into a formation in a transport vehicle.

In the distance, one of the large ships Atlas brought with them attacked others while a smaller ship flew towards the rogue one.

"I'm taking my ship back, that thing has access to certain Knights and we're going to need all of them in order to withstand this assault." Ironwood then entered the ship and flew away.

The students looked around finding the last transport ship. "Come on! Let's head to Beacon!" Jaune said. Everyone followed and entered the ship as Ruby stared down at Beacon. Fire and dark smoke covered the ground below.

"Gray…" She mumbled as she gripped her hood.

* * *

He was all alone. Qrow had to go so Gray was left there. He could barely think.

He missed Ruby.

The boy clawed at his head, hearing horrors outside. He was scared and angry. He could be out there fighting, by Ruby's and his team's side but no. He was here and he had to suffer. There was clawing at the walls, this building… whatever the fuck it was. It was going to collapse soon. God… it was so hard to think. The wall broke down and Ursas and Beowolfs rushed in clawing at the cell.

And this was the breaking point.

Gray stared them in the face and barked and roared. The boy ripped off his eyepatch and screamed, a mix of a humane wail and a wolf's howl. The boy grabbed one of the reaching arms of the Beowolfs and pulled until it was ripped off. The boy slammed into the cell door, yelling and screaming. The door collapsed and the boy leaped onto the nearest living thing. He clawed at the thing below him, before jumping away. He screamed at the remaining Ursa and tackled it.

Roaring, the boy peeled off bits of it's armor, stabbing it with its own protection. He continued to stab and slice and pierce and rip and tear until the thing disappeared into black gas.

Panting, Gray's hear perked at the sound of screaming. So the boy walked on his hind legs to the gaping hole in the wall and searched for more Grimm.


	18. Pure Chaos

Weiss and Blake could see the chaos around them at the fairgrounds. It was… horrific. "We have to do something!" Weiss said.

"Agreed." Screams were slamming into they're ears as Ursa pounced on civilians to their left while to their right, was… Atlas Paladins attacking more people? They had to belong to the White Fang. Weiss and Blake nodded to each other and went their separate ways, Blake taking the left while the heiress took the right. Overhead, the Airship containing the students had landed and Ruby and RIN piled out.

As Weiss made quick work of the Atlas Paladins and White Fang, she took a breath along with other Hunters and Atlas soldiers. That was until she heard… lightning strike? Turning around, Weiss barely had time to dodge a bolt of lightning, the same bolt crashed into the ground and shocked the recovering Atlas troops. "If it isn't the Schnee heiress!" Weiss glared, staring at none other than Grant from KING.

"Why are you doing this?! This is low even for you four."

"Low? We're terrorist! This is just hitting the point of low!" Grant held his spear, his arms and its blade trickled with lightning. "Now to finish what we couldn't do so long ago." Grant sprinted to Weiss and slammed his spear to the ground, golden lightning spewing out of the large spear and sending it streaking along the ground. Weiss elevated herself of the ground with her glyphs, taking her off the concrete. Grant, immediately continued his onslaught by elevating himself off the ground, poking at the heiress as she dodged and created more glyphs to keep her distance from the psycho.

After another stab at her, Weiss locked Grant in place and sent jab after jab with her rapier. After the lock broke, Grant casted, another lightning bolt and hurled it at Weiss. Luckily she maneuvered out of the way.

Seeing how far Grant was, Weiss began to flee, jumping from platform glyph to platform glyph, running closer to Beacon.

* * *

After landing, Ruby and the others parted ways to assist those in need. Pyrrha, with Jaune and Ruby ran to Beacon tower. "So, why are we here?" Ruby asked.

"I need to go down, I need you two to trust me. Can you? Guys?" Ruby and Jaune exchanged glances before nodding.

"Yeah." Both friends said simultaneously. "Go ahead we'll go find others." Ruby continued.

"Actually," A familiar voice chimed in. "Your not going anywhere." Ruby and Jaune turned to see Katherine and Cinder. "Now if you'll please get out of the way."

"Pyrrha!" Jaune called out. "Go, we'll hold them for as long as possible."

"Jau-"

"Go! Pyrrha!" Ruby commanded. The redhead looked at her friends before descending, leaving the four to themselves.

"Cinder, go. I'll handle these two." The woman went to walk past the two children, but Ruby went to stop her. Kath, fired a hook which slammed into Ruby and launched her back, allowing Cinder to leave them. Jaune rushed to Ruby's aid.

"Are you okay?" Ruby nodded and stood back up, glaring daggers at Katherine.

"Look at what your doing! How could you?! Stop this now, innocents are dying for no reason!" Katherine closed her eyes and attacked the two.

Outnumbered, Katherine used her whips and red Dust to her advantage, switching between offense and defense. Jaune deflected the whips and tried to keep Kath's attention as Ruby flanked and took shots at the blonde woman. One shot, dazed the woman, allowing Jaune to rush her. He bashed the woman to the ground with his shield, and quickly tried to stab her with his sword. However, the woman rolled away and fired a whip from her foot hitting Jaune and knocking him back.

She then recovered and fired a grappling hook above, propelling her above and on top of Ruby. The little leader miraculously dodged the fireball that was Katherine. As the woman landed, fire and hot wind was sent everywhere. Using Katherine's recovering time to her advantage, Ruby dashed ahead and slashed across the woman's chest, she then followed up with hooking the woman and firing, using the recoil of her weapon to pull Kath along with her. The little leader then threw Kath and into a wall, taking a few shots on her.

Growling, Katherine shot another hook and flew into the air, all whips/hooks released the woman shot her whips around her feet at Jaune, planting them in the ground and dragging her towards him at high speed. She then whipped down her arms, causing a huge explosion, Jaune being in the center and Ruby forced to be launched back. The little girl slammed hard into a wall and slowly slid down trying to recover the wind that was knocked out of her.

The thick smoke that surrounded the area where Jaune and Katherine were hadn't cleared and Ruby was getting nervous. Her head was hurting bad from the impact of the explosion, she felt dizzy. Finally the smoke cleared and showed Jaune unconscious on the ground and Katherine cracking her knuckles. Standing over Ruby, Katherine raised her foot staring into the little leader's eyes. Unable to look at the girl, Katherine brought her foot down, knocking the girl out.

She should kill them right now, it would make things easier, hell, it's the whole point she was given Dust. But… what Ruby said. "Innocents are dying!" Why did that stick with her? She's killed innocents before, sure it wasn't her favorite thing to do but, sometimes she had to do it.

"Damn it." Katherine cursed before dragging both unconscious students into a hiding spot next to rubble created by her explosion. Why is she doing this?! Why?! It's her job! Shaking her head, Katherine left and went to help out other Whit Fang, ignoring the two students she spared.

As the blonde walked away from Beacon tower, she heard a…

Animalistic scream with a shred of humanity.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rhys, Nia and Iris escorted other civilians around Beacon to safety while dueling various White Fang and Grimm. "These guys are maniacs! What are they getting out of this?!" Iris yelled.

"You guess is as good as mine honestly." Rhys retorted. As the transport ship hauling civilians away flew off, RIN took this time to breathe. Nia scanned the faces of her friends. They were both tired, all of them were. After last night and now this? This is just they're stroke of luck huh? The blonde felt a cold shiver down her spine as a scream echoed throughout Beacon.

Where are the Grimm? They haven't come around her, only stragglers. It was weird. Nia liked it but it was weird nonetheless. Suddenly, a familiar short figure caught Nia's eye. Too familiar. Way too familiar. Drawing her weapons, Nia ran to the figure, already drawing conclusions on who it might be. "Nia!" Iris yelled, she went to go after her but more civilians came for the next ticket out of this hellhole.

As Nia sprinted she saw Ursas and more Beowolfs. One jumped in her path, and leaped at her. The blonde then used her semblance and ran by the frozen in time monster, catching up to her target. As time returned to normal Nia braced herself. "Nyla!" The small cat Faunus turned around to see her new threat.

"Oh, its you. What do you want?" The Faunus clutched her handle as she circled Nia.

"You… you helped with this. Why? What's the point?!" Nyla stared at the girl. "Answer me!"

"I was ordered to. Just like I was ordered to kill you and your leader and the rest of your team." Nyla stood still, holding her katana and it's sheathe.

"Then come and get me!" Nia sprinted to Nyla and went for slashes, shoulder to shoulder. However, Nyla blocked both her dagger and katana with her own transparent blade.

Nyla felt cold to be around. And Nia didn't like it.

The blonde stepped off and connected her blades together, holding both with one hand as her other stayed close, ready to change if needed. Nyla, extended her blade and and stabbed it into the ground.

Abruptly, ice formed and shards came out from the concrete colliding with Nia and pushed her back. "Your out of your league girl."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't handle!" Nia then stopped time and rushed Nyla kicking out her legs and suspending her in the air before kicking the woman to the ground. After two seconds, time resumed and Nyla reacted to the acts. Nia picked the woman up and threw her back. "I can handle anything you throw at me." Nia growled. She wanted this woman dead. Gray's curse would happen more frequently when he was stressed. What else would make him stressed than none other than KING themselves?!

They'll pay. They're gonna die. They'll regret the day that they took Gray away from them.

From her.

Her partner was gone because of them, and she'll make then pay. All of them.

Nia stabbed the Faunus with her dagger before, exaggerating her next attack only to step to the side and cleave with her katana and finish with a jab with her dagger. Nyla groaned and hid her left hand behind her as she blocked and parried Nia's onslaught of rush attacks. Finally, Nyla put the little girl off balance and she threw her left hand at Nia's chest. As her punch made it's way to its destination, ice formed around her arm, making a lance in her arm, stabbing Nia and pushing her a distance. The lance then broke on impact. Nia coughed, seeing her breath.

Even with the fire around them, it was freezing with Nyla here.

Said woman slapped her hand on the ground and threw trails of ice made they're way to the red eyed blonde. Stopping time again, Nia walked ahead of them and kneed Nyla in the gut before dropping Dexterity for a second.

Nia held onto the stopped time for as long as she could as she punched and kicked and punched, it wasn't smart the longer she held onto it the more it drained her Aura.

But oh… was it worth it. Finally, Nia dropped the time stop and grabbed Dexterity once again. She watched as Nyla reacted to the punishment she received before quickly running behind the woman and kicking her legs out. Nia's Aura flashed along with Nyla's. Nia grabbed Nyla's hair and held her blade along her neck before slicing. Nyla's Aura then shattered, however, they're was a side-effect. Right when the Faunus' Aura shattered, ice formed around her, creating a dome around the woman. However when this activated, it also broke Nia's own Aura with the jagged spikes.

Said girl coughed and shivered as she waited for the shield to break. This gave Nia time to think, where was Ivan? These two are like best buddies. And Nia didn't acknowledge it before hand but those screams were getting closer.

Actually…

They were really close!

Suddenly, one of the walls to Beacon bursted open, showing Ivan being carried by something. That something pinned Ivan to a wall, screeched and then threw him at Nyla's shield, which Ivan bounced off of. Nia scanned this thing and gasped. "Gray?!" The boy snapped his head to Nia and growled. Walking closer, the boy sniffed Nia, and smelled her hair before growling lower, staring behind the blonde. "G-good to have you around." Ivan slowly got up as Nyla's shield began to melt. "Guess she can't hold that up for long." Gray snarled in agreement. As soon as Nyla's shield melted, Gray charged Ivan and kicked the man, diverting his attention to Nyla who he tackled by pushing off of Ivan. The boy rolled around with Nyla before going for the killing blow only to be smacked by Ivan's greatsword.

It sent him flying and into created pillars of rock.

"You handle blonde." Ivan commanded before charging back to Gray. Said boy clawed at his head and continued to go brute force. Ivan punched the ground, using his Dust to trip up Gray and smack him again with his sword, smashing the boy into the dorms. Shaking off the rubble Gray dodged another attack by Ivan before kicking out one of the giants legs and clawed at the back of his head. Anticipating a retort, Gray leaped off of Ivan and kicked him into a dorm room. Said man collapsed onto a bed, struggling to get up. Gray entered the same room and grabbed the desk in it and smashed it into Ivan. Gray the shoved Ivan and tackled him pushing him up and into a wall over and over until the wall couldn't take anymore and collapsed. Ivan kicked the beast off of him and into another room.

" **Die!** " Gray yelled as he leaped back onto Ivan. The man threw the boy out of a window and back to Nia and Nyla.

With them, it was block after parry. Nia couldn't stop time but Nyla could still use her Dust. When Gray came rolling out of the dorms, Nia glanced at him for a second.

That was a mistake.

Nyla rushed Nia with slash after slice. The younger girl dodged and blocked and deflected, moving back a few feet only for Nyla to catch up. Thinking, her attack was over, Nia when on the offensive…

Not seeing Nyla craft a sword out of ice. The woman plunged the sword into Nia's arm, right where her arm connects to her body. Nyla then broke the handle off and readied her transparent blade. With one vertical slice…

Nia's entire arm was severed.

Nia screamed in agony as Nyla swept her feet, and lastly cut off Nia's left foot, starting at her shin. Her right would've been next but Nia at barely moved into with the little strength she had left. The girl fell to the ground with her dismembered limbs, bleeding profusely.

As Gray watched...

He snapped.

He broke.

Screaming the boy, smashed his head into Nyla's before grabbing her leg and smashing his elbow into her knee breaking it. " **Grahhh!** " The boy the grabbed her blade and threw it away before punching. As Nyla went to block the boy grabbed her right arm and kicked in her elbow before breaking her wrist.

"Stop!" Ivan bellowed, throwing a punch at Gray the boy dodged it and slid back to Nia.

She's dying.

He needed to get her out of here. Ivan picked up the broken Nyla and glared at Gray as he picked up the unconscious Nia. The two then ran there separate ways, away from the dorms. Ivan formed a temporary truce with that monster and it accepted.

Gray sprinted to help, the closest being to docks. As he ran over he could see Rhys, Iris and Atlas soldiers. "Freeze! Stop right there or we will open fire!" The soldier ordered.

"Hold your fire! Nia!" Rhys shouted as he ran to the boy. Iris took her from him as she held back tears. "Who did this?!" Rhys stared at the girl as medics came to her aid and took her away.

" **KING.** " Rhys then stared at what used to be his leader. His eyepatch was gone and his Aura flickered. This was going to be the end of him if Rhys didn't do something. Gray turned around and began to walk away but Rhys stopped him.

"Stop. Please. Gray I know your in there please stop you'll die. We're lucky your even here. Come with us. We need to leave." Gray growled and slapped Rhys' hand off of him before glaring at the boy.

" **Ruby.** " The boy then ran off. Rhys yelled and held his head in his hands. Everything was going to shit, everything was falling apart.

"Rhys!" Weiss? What now. The boy looked up to see the girl jump into his arms.

"What?"

"Grant! He's coming we need to stop him!" Rhys closed his eyes sighing. He's had it with tonight! They did everything they could, Nia is out of commission, Gray just ran off and now this?! Grant is a fucking deadman… Rhys' weapons activated automatically, hovering in the air as he saw Grant descend from the sky. Honestly, that semblance must be cool.

To bad he's gonna die with it. The man landed in front of Rhys and Weiss, the heiress slightly intimidated but standing by Rhys instead of behind. "Mach dich bereit zu sterben. You son of a bitch." Grant held his spear and snickered.

"Come on, come get me."

"I don't have to. But these do." Rhys pointed at the man and his orbs did the work for him the orbs slammed into Grant or were deflected as Weiss ran up to him. The man took a stab at Weiss who, locked his spear there and jabbed his back as Rhys' orbs smacked into him.

"Damn it!" Grant broke Weiss' lock and smacked her with he blunt end of his spear pinning her. He then stabbed her with it and shocked her. Weiss' panicked screaming rebounded in Rhys' ears. Angry, the boy sprinted to the man creating more orbs around his hand before punching Grant in he back, his orbs launching Grant much further. The orbs the formed together into a tight ball and and smashed Grant into the ground, the man bouncing up from the impact.

He recovered and floated off the ground but quickly after, orbs followed up on punishing him. Helping Weiss to her feet Rhys scanned Grant. He was swinging wildly, stopping some created orbs and causing others to merely float there.

He was getting desperate. Behind him, he heard more screaming and soldiers rushing to get people to safety or in emergency vehicles. Rhys didn't have time for this…

Firing orb after orb the man was getting pelted by the metallic objects. Weiss, not keeping her distance ran up to the man, thinking of taking him out of the picture sooner than it needs to be.

Grant seeing the girl get closer, dropped his spear and grabbed Weiss by the hair and dragged her closer. The heiress was unable to do anything as the larger man grabbed her by the throat and began to strangle her, shocking her as he does so. "Weiss!" The boy ran to her aid, seeing Grant smirk and hold her by one hand and fire a bolt in his direction, colliding with him and stopping Rhys in his tracks. Grant continued to shock Weiss until her Aura broke, afterward he returned both hands to her neck and continued to strangle her.

Balling his fists, Rhys lunged at Grant and tackled him, causing the man to drop Weiss, the girl coughing and gasping for air. Rhys commanded his orbs to repeatedly smash into Grant, more accurately into his face. As Rhys created more, the speed of the orbs increased and increased, until the bastards Aura was no more along with his head. Blood and the sickening smashing of the man's face flew and fell on ears who would rather not hear it.

"Rhys!" Weiss called out in a hoarse voice. "Stop! He's dead! Please! Stop!" The boy stopped and raked his hair. The reality just hit him.

He just killed a man. Rhys Müller, a seventeen-year-old boy just murdered a man.

He stared at the body, the face wasn't recognizable. You couldn't tell if it was Grant or if it was a face in general. The body began to twitch and spasm, flailing. Most likely the Dust in his body shocking his muscles. After it's flailing, the man's boy fell still. "Let's go." Rhys said helping Weiss. "Let's get out of here." The two stared at Beacon, hearing a roar. "Now." The duo ran into one of the last emergency vehicles and waited for it to take off. Rhys watched Iris hold onto Nia's only hand as paramedics worked on her and tried to keep her under control.

Rhys closed his eyes, rubbing his temple and hiding his face. Weiss pulled the boy into a comforting hug and rubbed his back and Rhys began to sob.

Everything was going wrong.

* * *

Ruby slowly opened her eyes to hear roaring. Blinking a few times, the girl ignored the pain in her head and looked up to the top of Beacon tower. Gears and other clockwork parts fell off as fire spewed out from the sides. Feeling the need to go up there, Ruby used Crescent Rose to climb the broken building. Slowly making progress, Ruby heard another roar and looked up to see… a Dragon?! Said abomination crashed into the top of the tower, causing Ruby to go faster. Finally reaching the top, Ruby saw what used to be Ozpin's office. Next to her was Pyrrha on the ground with an arrow stuck in her side and leg. "Pyrrha!" The girl ran to her aid, not seeing Cinder and more focused on her friend. Pyrrha saw her running and tried to shove her away. However, before Ruby could get the message, Cinder sent a ball of fire at the two. Said ball exploded and sent to two separate ways. Pyrrha flew towards the broken elevator shaft as Ruby fell off the top.

Using Crescent Rose, Ruby held on and climbed back up. However as she got up, the little girl saw Cinder standing over Pyrrha, before lightly touching her face. Then, the redhead faded away turning into dust.

Pyrrha, flew by in her ashen state past Ruby. "No…" Pyrrha was dead… "No…" And it was her fault. "Why…" If Ruby wasn't distracted, Pyrrha could still be alive she could of saved her… "Why?!" The girl screamed, attracting Cinders attention.

"Hmm?" Silver light covered Ruby's eyes as she stood, wind blew around her, making Cinder struggle to stand. "No! I won't allow it!" Suddenly, a white light covered Beacon tower as the Dragon spectating the event was also covered in the light.

* * *

After doing what he could about Vale, Qrow rushed back to Beacon and that white light made him run faster. After sprinting for a few minutes, Qrow made it to the bottom of Beacon tower seeing the aftermath of the blast. The Dragon was frozen on top of the tower and on the ground, was Ruby and Cinder… Ruby was covered in cuts and bruises and Cinder… oh my… Qrow ran to Ruby's aid and picked her up. Behind him was quick running, the man didn't bother to look behind him because in front of him, running out of fire and smoke, was Katherine. "Cin!" The woman scooped the other and glared at Qrow. "What happened?!" The man stared at her with anger. However, Katherine wasn't looking at him, instead she was staring at what was behind the hunter.

" **Katherine!** " A hoarse voice leaped over Qrow and ripped Cinder away from her before kicking the woman back. " **Rah!** " The boy rushed the woman, clawing, punching, kicking and everything. The woman took a few of the hits before snapping her fingers, a explosion forming in between her and Gray. The boy bounced back, Aura becoming a thing of the pst.

"Gray stop!" Qrow warned. However the boy didn't listen, or wanted to listen. Angry, frustrated, and pissed Gray leaped on Katherine and grabbed her head, smashing it into his own. The boy leaped away, but Kath retorted with a grappling hook in his shoulder, it attached and latched in his left shoulder. The woman then whipped Gray down, tearing muscles out of his shoulder and causing him to land hard on his neck. The boy lied still in between Qrow and Katherine.

The man thought of his choices. He could end it all right now. Kill both Katherine and Cinder, but Gray and Ruby… damn it.

Katherine grabbed Cinder and walked off, not paying Qrow or anyone else mind. "H-hello?" A voice coughed out through smoke and rubble. The Hunter could make out the blonde hair of JNPR's leader.

"Hey, help me with them. We gotta get out of here. Now."

* * *

Monotonous beeping slammed in Gray's ear as he woke up. His eye could barely see it was so bright. Where was he? The boy coughed, eye opened more as he blinked. Judging by the beeping the boy guessed he was in a hospital, but what happened? All he remembered was him being in a cell then, bam. Nothing. The boy tried to move his arms but his left wasn't responding. Rolling his head to his left, Gray saw his arm was wrapped in bandages and, hair almost like a dogs was poking out. Gasping, Gray looked at his right… luckily it was fine but his left hand still had claws and that wolf look to it.

The beeping increased and someone entered the room to check on Gray only to gasp and run out the room. "He..!" Gray tried to call out to the nurse but his throat was raw and his voice was terrible. After a few minutes of waiting, the nurse came back with a doctor.

"Hello, Gray." Gray signaled for water, which the nurse left for and gave to the boy.

"Hello, Doctor. Where am I? What happened?" There was no more numbing of Gray's brain, he didn't feel like he was lacking in intelligence and he was speaking in normal sentences, what the hell happened.

"You see you were knocked out for some time."

"How long?" Gray interrogated.

"Three weeks." Gray sat up as his heart rate increased. "Please do not be alarmed! We've been taking great care of you and your team as you recovered."

"My team?"

"I should say your partner." Gray narrowed his eyebrows.

"What? What happened to Nia? What happened to Nia?!"

"Please relax. It's, best to see for yourself." The nurse and the doctor helped Gray to his feet but the boy shook them off and walked on his own. His left arm wasn't even in a cast, it just hung there lifeless, if felt like it was just dead weight. The doctor left him to Nia's room which was down the hall as the nurse stayed behind him. The doctor opened the door and showed Gray inside. There were 'get well soon' balloons floating in the corner of the room and at the bed was Nia.

Her hair was disheveled and she has bags under her eyes it looked like she lost weight too. "Nia." Gray said. The girl turned around and smiled when she saw Gray.

"Gray… your okay." Her voice was low and hushed. The girl moved in her bed revealing only one arm. Her left arm had been severed from her body, it broke Gray's heart to see her like this.

"Oh my god." The boy whispered.

"Yeah, not looking to good huh? At least Iris comes by. She checked up on me and gave me those balloons, she's been doing that for a while now. She seems so upset. I mean yeah I lost my arm and leg but, what's the worst that can happen right? We still have you." The girl coughed before grabbing the cup of water next to her and drinking it. "Sorry. I haven't talked this much in a while. I sound like Ivan huh?" Nia smiled.

"Nia…" The boy held the girl's face, seeing the little façade in her face. She was trying to be happy. But the more she stared into his eye, he could tell it was breaking.

"Gray I…" The boy kissed her forehead and pulled her into a hug, which she accepted and sobbed hard. The girl shaked with wail and her grip tightened on his shoulder. Gray sat there and rubbed her back.

"Let it out Nia. I'm right here. It's okay."

* * *

 ** _Reviews:_**

 _Outcast ranger: seriously you sir need to just write a book and sell it I don't know bout other people but I would buy it, also I'm glad yang was happy in this chapter it will give her something nice to think about when she gets 'disarmed' I'm sorry that wasn't very punny ok ok I'm done_

 **Me: thank you sir I appreciate it dearly and I plan on writing one in the future.**

 _Knight7252: The best way to defeat a nukaleeve is to exploit its weakness, its lack of mobility._

 **Me: yeppers that thing was creepy.**

 _Nishaven: Gray's weapon reminds me of the burial blade from Bloodborne._

 **Me: you are alright actually! Broken Stem is a mash of the Burial Blade, the Beasthunter Saif and the Hunter Axe! Good eye.**

 _Nishaven: It's interesting that Ozpin didn't use Gray's surname. Looks like he has a secret past._

 **Me: SPOILERS OZPIN KILLED GRAY'S PARENTS OUT OF MERCY. Don't expect that huh?**

 _xNaruHina: Uhh, so instead of one OC we got four? That is a bit much... xD Nia seems adorable but kinda not wanting the story to be overun by OC's. One is plenty._

 **Me: Welp! KING probably threw you off the scent huh rip.**

 _xNaruHina: Why couldn't be Gray be partnered with Ruby? :c_

 **Me: Well, my good lad the reason for that is because that would have Ruby not in RWBY. Sure, that would have even more character bonding but nah! (That and I didn't think of that until now)**

 **So I haven't done Review thingies in a while... sorrie! I actually haven't done anything in a while but I'm back and I plan on continuing!**


	19. A Plan Devised

Nia.

She went through a lot. The tournament was supposed to be a fantastic time, her team would've won for sure. She was confident in her and her team's ability. It was supposed to be a bonding time, with Iris, with Gray, even with team RWBY. It was supposed to be about her family. Her little family that she had. It was going to be documented too! By her and with some help by Iris. It would've been fun to look back on. The first picture…

Nia looked so happy. Alive. Iris was right next to her, holding her stomach. Rhys held his arms crossed, a common thing that he did. And Gray, a pure happy smile on his face.

The girl held her scroll while she looked at it. It made her smile.

But it made her sad at the same time.

It reminded her of her condition. And Rhys… he's been gone for a while. Iris told her that she still talks to him and it's hard for him to visit. The blonde understood. After the attack she was sure Rhys' father is worried for him.

If only she had a father like that.

* * *

"Rhys!" The boy glanced away from the large window he was looking out of in his father's study.

"Yes? Sorry father." The boy scanned at his father's slightly wrinkled face and looked into the same eyes he has. "I'm distracted."

"Thinking about your team? Worried about they're wellbeing?" Rhys nodded as a light rain started to pick up. Rhys' father sighed and raked his whitening hair. "Don't worry. I'm paying for everything." Rhys closed his eyes. He missed them.

His family. His brother and weird sisters.

"It's not that, Dad." Jacob stood up from his desk and joined his son in staring out the window.

"What's the problem?"

"I want to be there with them. I need to. I missed Gray waking up." Jacob rested a hand on his son's shoulder. "I going to miss too much and miss out. They might forget about me."

"Rhys…"

"You wouldn't understand." Jacob adjusted his dark green vest and leaned on the desk behind them.

"Try me." Rhys sighed.

"They're… like a family to me. You've seen the connections we've gained, even before Beacon. We've grown up together. I… I don't want to be left behind."

"Ahh… I see." Rhys' father spoke. "You don't want to be forgotten. Ja?"

"Yes…"

"I understand you four have a unbreakable bond and I'm glad that you've formed that. I love those kids like my one and only. I'd want nothing more than for you to be with them. But…" Jacob looked down.

"But dad?"

"I'm worried. After Vale… I know you want to become a Hunter… but, you almost died. I-I almost lost my son. My only child…" The man held it together but Rhys saw his father's eyes get glossy. There was a gentle knocking on the door and both men knew who it was. "Come in Adelyn." Softly, the elegantly crafted wooden door to the study opened, revealing Rhys' gentle mother.

Adelyn was a short woman, blonde with a long braid with graying just like her husband. She slowly approached and sat down in Jacob's chair, next to her husband. "Is anything wrong?" Rhys' mother always had a soft voice, with a thick accent. It only made her more intimidating when she raised her voice or talked in a stern tone.

"Rhys is just talking to me about going to see and be with Gray, Nia and Iris. And I'm telling him that we want him here just a bit longer." Jacob's wife smiled and grabbed his hand.

"I understand father. But, you know that, that's part of the job-"

"We know Rhys. Trust me, me and your father are well aware of what you want. Now, don't forget your our only child, and we love you very much. Jacob, Rhys choose this job he wants to be a Hunter and he did it that night. We can't stop him for what he wants, no matter how much we love him." Adelyn said. Jacob closed his eyes.

"Ugh, your right. We can't stop him from being with and what he wants to be." Rhys watched as his parents talked about this. The boy chuckled.

"Mother, father, I'll say for a while longer." Adelyn and Jacob smiled at they're son. They raised a great man, and he'll be great for leading the Müller name.

* * *

Nia swiped her finger across her scroll looking at each individual picture. Her door opened revealing her partner and she smiled at him. "Whatcha doing Nia?" The boy said as he sat down next to her.

"Looking through my pictures." The boy chuckled and ruffled the blondes hair.

"Dork." Nia rolled eyes as she found another picture. This picture will shut him up.

"Your one to talk. Look." The boy scanned the picture and smiled. It was the one when everyone was at the noodle shop and Ruby had to sit on his lap. The boy grinned in the picture as he squeezed his little girlfriend.

He still hasn't gotten a visit from her… he missed his little leader. Qrow told him that Ruby was at her house, being cared for just like Yang. Luckily, Ruby wasn't hurt. Not like his team. "Gray? Hey, buddy!"

"Yeah, sorry. I was distracted." Nia frowned a bit.

"Ruby?" The boy nodded. "I miss her too. But, probably not a bad as you. Don't worry, we'll see her again. Then you two can hug and be a couple again." Gray smiled, feeling Nia scratch his ear. "I haven't done this in a while."

"Yeah it ain't fair, why can't I do it too?" The familiar voice of Iris spoke up. Gray smiled and stood up, losing balance a bit. Iris hugged to boy trying not to tear up. "I'm glad your safe and okay."

"That's what I said!" Nia shouted. Iris giggled and walked over to her girlfriend, smooching her forehead.

"Shush." There was a knocking on the door before a nurse came in.

"Oh! Hello! Um, miss May I'm here for your scheduled physical training." Nia glanced at her teammates and then returned her red eyes to the nurse.

"Um, okay. Uh, can they stay here please?" The nurse smiled and nodded before kindly asking Gray and Iris to step back as the woman lifted Iris's whole leg and lifted it slowly to be perpendicular to the ceiling. Nia almost got there but her leg began to bend and she couldn't go higher. Nia chuckled nervously to her friends. "Guess I've missed out on a few stretches. Oops." The nurse slowly lowered Nia's leg and went to the other, the one missing a foot. That one didn't even get close to the other.

"Okay, now sit up please." Nia reluctantly sat up, embarrassed by her lack of flexibility. "Now raise your arm up and hold this five pound weight." Nia did what she was told and easily held the weight above her head. "Great, now hold your arm out to me, like your trying to give me the weight." Once again Nia easily followed instructions but, her arm wobbled, muscles becoming tired. Finally the nurse told her to stop and continued with a few more activities, leaving Gray and Iris to talk between themselves.

"She's not in great shape." Iris shook her head.

"You shoulda seen her when you were unconscious. It broke my heart to see her so broken."

"Same. How's Rhys? You keeping contact?" Iris nodded and folded her arms.

"Yeah, he visited when you were out, like the day you two were put in here. He hasn't been back since. As for now, he'd like to visit you guys but there's some issues."

"Like?" Gray asked yawning. "Is miss Müller keeping him for a while?"

"It's actually Jacob. They just want him a bit longer. He is their only son. Kid for that matter." Gray nodded, the two of them glancing at Nia.

"Speaking of parents, did Kars and Iggy come by?" Iris smiled.

"Yeah, they came to visit. I was glad to see them. I'm sure you would've been glad too. You lived with us."

"Yeah. What about Nia's mom?"

"Lilian came by, she was heartbroken. Seeing you and Nia like this was devastating."

"I'm sorry." Gray ducked his head and tightened his hand.

"What? Why? What could you have done? You were taken over. We're glad you're here and not crazy for whatever reason." Finally, the nurse bid the kids farewell and left, allowing everyone to sit down and properly catch up.

"So anything else about Rhys?" The leader of GRIN coughed.

"What! You guys were talking about Rhys without me?!"

"Well.." Iris said. "He has a plan. A plan to get back and dish out all the pain we've experienced." Nia glanced at Gray slightly concerned, but when she saw the hardened look on his face, she knew what was going to happen.

And she was all for it.

* * *

After a week of waiting, the three members of the Müller family had arrived in the Schnee household, Jacques had invited them to talk and meet other 'friends' of his. It was also a showcase of knew weapons, that were exactly like Rhys'. The orbs he used were prototypes which he used in order to further test their capabilities. When they worked perfectly, the prototype had a few more test and here they were, being showcased and shown in the Müller's honor. Rhys tagged along, more like dragged along, and here he was standing in a corner of this large display room looking at excellent recreations of his own weapon.

"Bored?" Rhys' mother spoke up from the other voices that filled the room.

"Just about." Adelyn giggled and took a sip from her wine.

"Trust me, I'm sure me and your father could be doing something much better than standing around drinking with people who aren't really important to us in the slightest." Rhys laughed with his mother. "It's true!" The woman swirled her glass thinking momentarily. "We built what you asked for."

"Really?" Rhys asked, turning to his mother. When she nodded, the boy hugged her tightly. "Thank you. I'm sure she'll love them."

"Oh, knowing her she'll want to come see us and personally give us the biggest hugs possible."

Rhys' mother and father were in on his plan that he had schemed. They'd decided to help in the best and most effective ways possible while staying discreet from public eye too.

Throughout the party, Rhys continued to eye the crowd, seeing his mother join his father's side while making jokes, causing both of them to laugh.

However, something stood out from the crowd. Familiar white hair. "Weiss?" He followed the woman in white, occasionally bumping into a few man and women. The girl walked outside and onto a balcony, leaning on the railing slightly. The boy snuck behind her and placed a hand on the railing. "Beautiful night isn't it?" The girl turned to Rhys and gasped, dropping her glass of wine and causing it to shatter.

"Rhys!" Weiss leaped into him, hugging him tightly. "Thank god, a close friend here."

"Good to see you too Weiss. How are things? How's everyone?" Weiss frowned.

"I have no clue. My father took my scroll away from me and isolated me from public eye. I'm basically invisible. I'm surprised he even brought me out here." Rhys growled. "Hey, its fine. I've been taking care of myself this far." Weiss reassured, resting her hands on Rhys' shoulders. The boy eased up and pulled the girl into a hug again, the latter not fighting the gesture.

"I missed you, you know? You and your fake cold attitude." Weiss nodded and tightened her grip around his neck.

"And I missed you and your quiet kindness." The two laughed, holding onto each other much longer than expected. When the broke apart, Weiss blushed, keeping her head down. "How's GRIN doing? Anything about Gray and Nia?"

"They're both okay, thank goodness. Nia's, having some problems but now that Gray's around, she'll want to impress him on how fast she can recover." Weiss smiled, thinking about Nia rushing her recovery just so Gray could say that he's proud of her.

"And Iris?"

"She's fine, been watching over Gray and Nia while I'm gone."

"Do you plan on visiting them again anytime soon?" Rhys scoffed and scratched his head.

"More so than visiting." Weiss turned to the boy and crossed her arms.

"What are you trying to do Rhys?" The boy shook his head. "Come on please? Tell me something exciting." The boy gave in to Weiss' horrifically terrible attempt at changing his mind and sighed.

"Promise you won't tell?" The heiress nodded. "We're going after the remains of KING."

"What?! Rhys that's crazy! They're not in the right mind to fight and neither are you guys to be taking them on!"

"Grant is dead, and Nyla has been hurt badly by Gray."

"It doesn't matter Rhys, think! They have Dust on their side! You have Gray, a broken boy, Nia can't even walk without help, and then you and Iris! It'll be a suicide mission!"

"It's too late. To change my mind Weiss. I have information on where KING is hiding. Mistral."

"Please Rhys listen to me!" Weiss pleaded. "Don't do it! They have the entire White Fang, at their disposal and Cinder! She's the Fall Maiden now!" Rhys smiled and held Weiss' face, her eyes shined along with her white skin in the moonlight. Her makeup made her look all the more beautiful, with her red lips.

"I'm not the only one who thought of this. It was a team vote as well. And if the team votes for one thing, then we're going to do that thing." An audible beep caused the boy to grab his scroll and nod. Rhys then stepped back and removed his hand from the side of Weiss' face. "I gotta go. I'll see you soon Weiss." The boy turned and reached for the balcony door before Weiss grabbed his hand. "Hmm?"

Before he could react, Weiss stood on her toes and kissed him on his cheek, leaving a kiss mark on her face. "I'll meet you there. At some point I'm going to see you in Mistral and I'm helping." Rhys went to speak but the girl cut him off before he had a chance. "And don't bother trying to convince me not too. My decision is final." Rhys smiled and gave Weiss one last hug before walking away.

The girl, now alone with nothing but the moon sighed, and rubbed her shoulders. She then grinned realizing what she did.

If only Ruby saw her now.

If only her team saw her now.

* * *

 ** _Reviews:_**

 _Gh0st495: Great job on Chapter 18 the fighting scenes were awesome and the sad scenes were really heartbreaking for Nia, but overall great chapter keep up the great work._

 **Me: Thanks, always nice to hear I had someone feeling something with my work and get ready for more!**

 **Okay, yes this was much shorter than what you guys are probably used to but don't worry! Next chapter will be longer and things will get going! Also, some news, I'm trying to write my own book! So, things may come out slower but they'll come out none the less. I'm not giving up on this story until I get my goals; A. Complete the story and B. (Kinda) Get someone to try and do fanart of the good ol GRIN squad! Have a good day/night people.**


	20. A Smiling Journey

Rhys strolled through the hospital, knowing which floor and room numbers Gray and Nia's rooms were. Jumping into an elevator, the boy looked at the briefcase he was holding.

Nia will love this.

The elevator opened up to a rather surprising sight. The doors opened to reveal, a familiar adversary and friend.

Maru.

The girl noticed Rhys and smiled. "Rhys! Hey! Are you visiting Gray?" The girl asked, hobbling over to him. The girl hadn't survived Beacon without injuries. Maru had her whole leg, worse then Nia's lower injury. The girl as a prosthetic leg for now and a cane, which she used to walk around to keep her muscles in shape. The girl's hair was in shambles as well. The happy and cheerful leader of MOCA was reduced to this.

And at such a young age.

"Yeah, I'm visiting and soon we're leaving." Maru smiled.

"Where you guys going? If you don't mind me asking."

"We're going to takedown KING."

"What do you mean?"

"Kill them." Maru's eyes widened at the explanation, and shortly, those same eyes narrowed into seriousness.

"Good. They took my leg and two of my teammates. Carr and Olena are dead because of what they caused."

"I'm sorry Maru. I'll help you get revenge."

"Thank you. Those bastards deserve everything they get."

* * *

"So, what's the plan again?" Nia asked, having Iris assist her to Gray's room. Her brunette girlfriend sighed and inhaled, trying to explain everything in one breath.

"We're gonna go after KING, however we're gonna get the gang back together so, we'll have to-" Iris took another breath. She did try. "Find Ruby and Yang, Blake is dark so we're out of luck for her." Nia frowned.

"Aww, that sucks."

"Rhys texted me saying that Weiss will meet us at Mistral, then we find KING or KIN now, and we make them pay."

"Is it true that Rhys killed Grant?" Iris nodded as she opened the door. "Okay." Iris continued to lead Nia to the chairs in Gray's room, the owner of said room saw the two and quickly got out of the bed to allow Nia to rest on it. "Uh, I got this Iris, you sit down." The blonde girl used the one crutch that she used before to maneuver herself to Gray's bed, lying in it. "See? I got it!" Gray chuckled and ruffled Nia's hair, hearing her giggle happily.

"So," The owner of the room sat in a seat next to Iris. "We're going to get Ruby first?"

"Yup!" The two girls nodded. "Getting you two together will be fun!" Nia continued. "Oh Gray I missed you soooo much~!"

"Oh Ruby, I missed you more~!" Iris mocked Gray. The two then made various kissing noises, Nia making a low moaning noise causing Iris to laugh, and Gray blush.

"You guys are jerks." Gray went to fold his arms, but his left arm wasn't cooperating.

"You two love teasing him huh?" The trio jumped at the voice with the thick accent and smiled.

"Rhys!" Everyone yelled, Iris leaping into the boy's arms while Nia waved her only arm for a hug. After hugging Iris, the man smiled and rushed to Nia slightly picking her up from the bed. "I missed you so much!" Nia cried.

"I missed you guys too." The three sat down and caught up on things.

"We gotta thank you parents Rhys."

"Trust me I did already." Everyone laughed. "It's really great to be here again. With you guys." Gray smiled and patted Rhys on the back.

"It's great to have you back brother."

"Yeah, the gang is all back together!" Nia beamed. The team conversed and caught up on other things before getting down to the nitty gritty.

"So, are you guys ready for this?" GIN almost instantly nodded in agreement.

"It's payback time. They aren't getting away with this." Gray growled.

"Damn straight." Iris nodded.

"Are you guys sure?"

"Rhys, we're taking these jerks down." Nia stated, a deadpan expression on her face.

"Gray? Will you be able to take it?"

"I may not be able to feel my arm but I can still fight." Rhys nodded.

"Alright." Nia smiled, seeing everyone together made her really happy. Rhys grinned at the blonde. "Oh and I have a few gifts for Nia." The boy walked back to the door to the room and grabbed two briefcases. "It broke my heart to see you like this Nia, my parents were even more upset. So, we made these." Before Rhys even finished his sentence, Nia gasped. The boy opened the briefcase at the foot of the bed, pulling out…

An artificial leg. The leg has a silver sleek look to it with bright red paint on it. It looked both robotic and humane at the same time. Robotic toes jutted out of the foot. "Oh my…"

"Here, it's yours." Nia grabbed the surprisingly light leg and scanned it some more.

"Iris, can you help me?" The brunette obliged and assisted Nia with setting it up on her leg. Once it was set, Iris helped Nia to her feet. The blondes legs buckled for a second, the girl fell to the ground. Instantly everyone rushed to her side, however Nia stopped them. "I got it! I can do this…" Nia breathed in deep, using her only arm to help herself up. The girl lifted her artificial leg and planted it. Pushing herself up, the blonde stood again for the first time in three weeks. The girl began to giggle and grin, excited beyond belief. "Guys! I'm standing! I'm standing! Gray, look! I'm standing! Haha!" The girl took one step then followed with another with the artificial leg. "I'm walking!" The blonde then wiggled her toes, the leg responding with that as well. "Haha!" Nia laughed. This was incredible!

"And another thing Nia." The boy also pulled out a artificial arm. The girl felt tears, tears of happiness. This was the greatest thing that had ever happened to her. The blonde leaped into the boy, almost falling due to the lack of not walking, and hugged him with one arm. "Wait silly, put it on and then you can give me a real hug." The girl did exactly that. A minute after she activated the arm, the girl hugged Rhys.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Rhys smiled and returned the hug.

"We'll leave in a week, since Nia needs to get used to walking again." Gray, Iris and said blonde nodded. "Gray, I could get you a new arm too. If you want." The boy shook his head.

"No. My arm is just damaged not gone. I can still kind of feel it." Rhys nodded.

"I understand. We'll get Ruby soon big guy. We know you miss her." Rhys patted Gray's back as the boy nodded.

He'll see her again.

* * *

Shit was getting scary. Katherine stared out a window seeing… Grimm be born? Good god this was weird! She remembered when things were simple and fun!

Simply robbing a bank or robbing Dust store just to sell them, not injecting them into herself! And then, there was the time when KING was whole and they weren't missing Grant or Nyla wasn't a broken mess.

Everything changed that night.

Kath was feeling different about everything. When she saw Ruby unconscious and ready to be killed she felt… different. Something wasn't right about the situation. "Kath…" Cinder groaned. The blonde turned to her Maiden companion and stood beside her. Kath and Cinder were sitting in a meeting room with three other individuals waiting for their leader. Kath avoided small talk between all of them. They were all monsters in her eyes. But who was she to judge?

She helped with that terrorist attack so long ago. Suddenly the large doors to the meeting room opened, everyone standing up quickly. A woman Katherine had never seen before strode in and elegantly took a seat, a sign for everyone else to sit besides Katherine. The woman was Salem, Cinder's master in Kath's eyes. Everyone conversed about their plans and a few mocked Cinder for how beaten she was. Everyone faded out of Kath's focus, her mind wandering.

She's a monster. She caused so many deaths that night, innocent and…

Even Grants.

A tap on her leg broke her focus and she looked down to see Cinder nod her head in Salem's direction. "Sorry?"

"And you are miss?"

"I'm a partner of Cinder's. My name is Katherine Rani." Salem nodded.

"Very well. I've heard of good things about you. Don't disappoint us." Salem then turned her attention to Cinder. "As for you, you were defeated my a small little girl with silver eyes. Clearly this is a problem. And I need someone to take care of this issue now." The jittery man known as Tyrian waved his hand.

"I'll do it! Since our Maiden doesn't truly know what her power is, I'll do it." The man giggled creepily and sat awkwardly too.

"Actually. Cinder. Since miss Katherine here is also a test subject. Send some of those, altered White Fang. Surely they'll take care of the issue." Cinder nodded sadly. "And if that doesn't work, Katherine, I want you to resolve this speed-bump. Understood?"

Kath cursed under her breath. "Yes. Understood." She hated where this was going.

* * *

As the week passed, GRIN stayed together, helping Nia return to how she was before all of this. The girl gained some weight that she had lost and she looked much happier and alive. She constantly used the artificial leg and arm, wiggling the toes or the fingers. Finally, everyone was ready and together, they took a picture,

The reunion of GRIN.

Nia smiled as she told everyone to gather around. "This is gonna be so cool!" The girl wore an interesting outfit.

She wore a black tunic with short sleeves and a long cloth that ran in the middle of her legs, stopping at her knees. Her baggy combat pants were a much darker red and her shoes were combat boots. Her right leg had small amounts of armor, along with her right arm, protecting her limbs that weren't artificial. The black tunic had the right end of a smile on it, large and splatted directly on the center. The teeth were a pure white and the lips were a thin pink. Above the quarter of her smile was one letter; N. "Come on guys! Rhys, get your butt over here!" The man a thin gray overcoat with a white dress shirt and khaki dress pants, hair slick back. The back of his jacket had half of the middle of the smile, continuing the smirk with its white teeth and pink lips. Above his part was another letter; R

Iris jumped to Nia's side, wearing a dark green long sleeve shirt, the sleeves ending at her forearms and jeans with simple sneakers. Her outfit was the most lax of all three so far. As expected the brunette had the third quarter of the smile on the back of her shirt, almost completing the signature smirk of the team. Above her part was a I.

Lastly was Gray, the boy wore a dark blue long sleeve turtleneck, the left arm's sleeve was cut so instead the right was long and the left was short. He wore slightly baggy combat jeans and boots. Finally and for starters was Gray's beginning to the grin, above his part was G. Nia jumped up and down, wanting to get this picture. The girl grabbed Gray's right shoulder and dragged him to her, before slipping her arm across his back and planting her head in his shoulder, while also holding her scroll for the picture. Iris sat in between the two on her knees beaming a smile while looking up to the scroll. Rhys stood next to Gray, a soft smile on his face, having his arms lazily folded. Lastly was Gray, who flashed a toothy grin, a sharpened tooth sticking out and his ears obviously displayed to the world. "Say GRIN!" Nia giggled as she took the picture, everyone moved out of their poses and stood over her shoulders to see the image.

"Eh, not bad." Rhys snickered.

"Could've been better. Nia has gotten a little rusty in her photography skills." Iris joked making Nia gasp.

"How dare you! My skills never deteriorate! I'm the greatest friendship photographer ever!"

"I'll say." Gray laughed, patting the girl on her head. "You certainly have an eye." Nia grinned at her partner and hugged him. The boy hugged her back with his one functional arm and glanced at Rhys and Iris. "What are you guys doing? Get in on this!" The RI of GRIN embraced the other two, squeezing tightly. "Now, let's get this started. We have a personal vendetta to accomplish!"

"Wait! I want one more picture! Of all our backs with our letters and smile! Quick! Somebody get Maru!"

GRIN was now fully back together.

* * *

It took a while to fly to Ruby's home, it was kind of in the middle of nowhere and Rhys' transport had some difficulty. So instead of flying directly to the house, Rhys had them stop relatively close by, a nice walk to the house. "So, excited to see your 'wittle wose' Gray?" Iris teased.

"Yeah are you?" Nia asked, not in a teasing tone but more of interest.

"Of course but I'm also nervous guys."

"I understand," Rhys said, patting Gray on the back. "She'll be glad to see you. I'm sure." Gray smiled and nodded.

"I'm worried for Yang though. She's more upset about everything then I was." Nia added, messing with her hand. "We'll need to talk to her. She'd like to see some of her friends." Iris nodded. Finally, the four arrived at Ruby's house, it was lovely. Small but big at the same time. It slightly intimidated Gray. It made him happy but, nervous at the same time, due to the past he had here. "Gray, don't worry. We're right behind you." The blonde hugged the boy and they moved to the front door. Knocking, Gray waited nervously.

"Coming!" The familiar cheerful, manly voice made Gray's heart sink. Opening the door, Ruby and Yang's father saw the four individuals in front of him. "Hello, who are you four?" Gray slightly snarled and Rhys moved him back, Iris jumping into the leader's place.

"I'm Iris Hunt, she's Nia May and he's Rhys Müller. We're looking for Ruby Rose? She's a close friend of ours. We're also here for your other daughter Yang?"

"Friends? We're you guys all at Beacon?" RIN nodded together and Taiyang nodded. "Interesting, come in. I'll get Yang." Taiyang opened the door, allowing the team to walk in. Before hand everyone turned around to check on their leader. "Are you okay? Looked like you were about to lose control."

"Yeah, are you Gray?" Nia also asked. The boy in question nodded, rubbing his head.

"Just, looking at him made something snapped. You guys already know the problems I have with him."

"We understand but, try to keep it together okay?" Gray nodded and the four entered the house. Taiyang then walked back down the stairs seeing the four in his house.

"Sorry I've been busy with a lot." The blonde man scanned their faces, stopping at Gray. "No… Gray?!" The man rushed to the handicapped boy. "Oh my god! It's really you!" Taiyang embraced the boy, shocking him and making everyone in the room step back. "I can't believe it! I-I don't know what to say! I'm so glad you're here, a-alive!"

"Yeah, I bet you are." Gray said he didn't really know how to respond to this. Neither of the two did.

"I-I…" Taiyang sighed. "I'm so, so sorry. I… what I did… was unforgivable. I kicked a young child out of my house because I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't strong enough to take care of you three." Taiyang stared at the ground. "And I hated myself. I thought I… I thought I killed you. But here you are." Ruby's father looked into Gray's eye. "A young man, and still alive. Thank god."

"I…"

"Gray… I know I put you through a lot… I pushed you down a hard road. And… I want to say I'm sorry." Taiyang extended his hand out to Gray. Said boy looked at his team for help, all of them gesturing him to say something.

"Taiyang. I would shake your hand but, that arm doesn't really work at the moment."

"Oh!" The father switched hands and the two shook, RIN laughing quietly. "So, you four were in the Beacon attack too?" Everyone nodded.

"How's Yang?" Nia asked. The father of said blonde sighed.

"Not good especially now." GRIN glanced at each other, wondering what he was talking about.

"What do you mean?"

"She's even more upset now because Ruby's missing."

"What?!" Gray asked.

"Ruby ran out of the house."

"When?" Rhys asked for Gray's sake.

"Two days ago. Uh, there's a note in the kitchen, here." The man walked to the kitchen and grabbed the note and gave it to Gray, the others reading it with him.

"'If your reading this I ran away. I'm going after the people that were responsible for the downfall of Vale."

"She-she spelled downfall wrong." Iris pointed out. Nia, Rhys and Gray glared at her and the brunette shrunk. "Sorry." Gray then continued reading.

"'I'm not alone however… and hopefully I'll be able to come back. It'll be a long road to Mistral. Dad, please take care of Yang and Yang, it'll get better trust me. Love Ruby.'" She even put a small heart next to her name. Gray closed his eye and sighed deeply.

"She's doing what we're doing…" Nia mumbled. "Darn it."

"Wait, you four are going to Mistral too?" Taiyang interrupted. Rhys nodded. "You can't! I know what you four and my daughter are going after and it isn't safe! Your too young to be fighting such a dangerous threat."

"We're not picking a fight." Gray growled. "We're ending it. KING started first. We're ending it. Childhood isn't always easy Taiyang. You know that with me." The man nodded and sighed.

"Guess I can't stop you four can I? This is your journey, your story." Gray nodded, crumbling the paper.

"Can I-can I keep this?"

"Y-yeah of course." Gray stuffed the paper into his back pocket and sighed.

"Now, one last thing. Can we check on Yang?" Taiyang smiled.

"Yeah, she'd like that." GRIN walked to Yang's room, Gray knowing which room was which. Opening the door, the door revealed the blonde, who turned as saw the four, jumping out of surprise.

"H-hey guys." Yang waved with her good arm.

"Hey, Yang." They said together. "How you holding up?" Nia continued.

"Just peachy." Nia turned to her friends before walking closer.

"Your dad told us other wise. Still shook up by your arm?" Yang scoffed.

"Of course. Now I can't be a huntress."

"What about artificial limbs?" Yang didn't see Nia's due to the blonde not bothering to look at the others, more focused on her missing arm.

"That's not the same Nia. It won't be the same." Nia nodded.

"I understand. I feel that way already." Yang started at Nia before Nia showed her arm. "It's cool but, after a while you start to realize it isn't really you. It helps, and it makes me whole again, makes me feel relevant again. But… there's still… that emptiness." Nia then showed her foot. "You can still feel you limbs there but, they aren't. Even when you have prosthetics of artificial limbs, it doesn't feel like you." Nia's voice lost its overwhelming happiness and positivity. "But still, you can't let that stop you from being who you want to be. I thought it was over for me Yang, but here I am, walking and moving my arm again." Nia knelt before Yang and rested her artificial arm on her shoulder. "Just give it some time. It won't make you whole again but, it'll help you be on who you want to be. I promise you." Yang's eyes stared into Nia's.

"Okay. I'll… I'll think about it. I'm sorry, Nia. I'm sorry for what you've been through." The kneeling blonde stood and smiled.

"It isn't your fault Yang, don't blame yourself."

"So, what are you guys here for? Just a visit?" Altogether, GRIN shrugged.

"Kinda? We came to see you and Ruby and to… take her with us."

"To Mistral?"

"How'd you know?!" GIN shouted.

"Ruby's going there."

"Yeah, we know." Gray said. Yang smiled and sat up on her bed.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Go get her! Gray I know you miss my baby sis, be sure you give her lots of love. For my sake and yours." The leader of GRIN nodded and gave Yang a one armed hug, the girl accepting it. Taiyang moved out of the doorway to allow them to leave, but before Nia could take a step, Yang grabbed her hand. "And Nia."

"Hmm?"

"Thanks. Th-thanks for telling me that." The blonde grinned and saluted.

"No problem!" The blonde stepped out of the room, Yang's father behind them.

"Do you four need anything? Food?"

"Your kind Mr. Xaio Long but, we don't want to overstay our welcome." Ruby's father waved Rhys off.

"Nonsense! I wouldn't be a good host if I didn't entertain or feed you." GRIN had stayed just a bit longer, while Taiyang fixed them some food and contained them into a bag, along with some sleeping bags. Yang had stepped out of her room and laughed, knowing her dad would've done this. Finally, GRIN had left the house and waved goodbye, Iris holding their newly acquired bag of food. Yang and her father waved goodbye shouting good luck and soon, GRIN was back in the woods.

"So, what's the best path to Mistral from here? We have to catch up to them." Iris asked, shifting her hold on the bag.

"One second." Rhys held out his scroll and nodded closing it. "This way. It'll be a while but we can take this path."

"Can't we contact her?" Nia asked. Gray shook his head.

"No, trust me I tried. She might've left her scroll or it's dead." Nia snapped her fingers in anger. "It's fine. If we keep course and don't get distracted we should be okay." Nia nodded rushing ahead.

"A good ol' adventure to tell our children! The fantastic adventure of team GRIN! The race for the leader's lover! Will the leader couple be reunited?!" Nia spouted, Rhys shaking his head.

"Dummkopf."

* * *

Weiss paced in her room. She needed to escape this hell that was her mansion. Her father was irrational and her brother was insane. That was her whole family basically.

The only person she could trust was her butler! Rhys…

She needed to find a way to escape so she could get to Mistral. She wanted to see GRIN again. The heiress couldn't contact anyone either, her scroll had been taken to who knows where. Wait… does Klein know where it could be? Weiss sighed. Relax, breathe, and relax.

Weiss just wanted to be out of this place. There was more than one reason she wanted to attend Beacon. A knock on her door made the girl jump. "Come in." She sighed.

"Is something the matter Miss Schnee?" The jovial voice of her butler, Klein, asked.

"No Klein I'm fine." The man sat a tray he was holding down, a cup of coffee on top of it.

"If you say so. Your time is starting to come up. General Ironwood will visit here soon and that will be the best time to escape." His relaxed yellow eyes stared at the heiress.

"Great."

"I must say, your rather brave to be doing this Miss Schnee." The man then sneezed, changing his eye color instantly to a light blue. "This could be dangerous."

"It's a risk in willing to take Klein. You're the only person I can trust on this."

"Don't worry Miss Schnee I-I-I-" Another sneeze, "Ah, I got you one hundred percent." Weiss smiled and stood up.

"Thank you Klein. I'm glad I have a friend on the inside."

* * *

Ruby sat awake, it wasn't her turn to take watch but she couldn't sleep. She turned to see Jaune, Nora asleep, Ren taking watch. She couldn't sleep because of the many things in her mind. She didn't want to tell anyone but, Pyrrha's death still haunted her. So many things still haunted her. So many things flooded her mind.

How was her team doing? Ruby felt a little guilty, she had left her father and Yang, and Yang needed her but… Ruby wanted to do this. She wanted payback.

For Pyrrha.

For Nia.

For Gray.

Ruby's heart sank. She didn't know if Gray was okay or not. She didn't remember anything from that fateful night. All she remembered was Pyrrha's ashes fly past her and then… nothing. When she woke up in her room, Qrow was there.

Naturally she asked what had happened. What happened to Gray? Qrow had told her that he was 'fine', that baby talk. Ruby hated it. Because now she didn't know if the man that she loved was alive or dead or, in a weird tortuous state of his. Ruby tucked her knees close to her, flipping Gray's hoodie onto her head. She felt it's familiar warmth that it always had, relaxing her.

Her brain traveled through her memories remembering the times before they were separated. She smiled, remembering when he won her that large Beowolf. It was still in her room. She grinned into her hoodie when they messed with each other before Gray gave her one of his hoodie's. It was such a silly thing but, it meant the world to her.

It still means the world to her now. Right now it was the only thing she had to remember him, besides her memories. "Ruby?" Ren asked the girl sat up and looked at the boy. "Want to switch since your up?"

"Yeah, of course Ren. Go stop sleep I'll keep watch." The boy nodded and lied down, switching roles with Ruby. The girl went back to her brain, now thinking about her goal.

She had learned that KING or KIN for that matter, was 'stationed' at Mistral. So, Ruby and JNR could contact the school of Mistral and take out KIN.

Two birds with one stone.

Ruby wanted nothing for KIN to be behind bars. The little leader, hated Katherine. She was a monster! And Ruby had to dish out her anger and judgment on her. She could get her vengeance on her, to get that satisfaction for what Kath did to Gray. Ruby then frowned, hiding her head in her hands.

Please… don't be dead Gray… for her sake don't be dead.

* * *

Smashing a Beowolf into a wall was always a great way to finish a day. "Watch out, Gray!" Nia's voice shouted. The boy turned around, just in time to see a Boarbatusk sprint at him. The boy formed his father's shield and bashed the boarbatusk, stopping it in its tracks. Quickly, the boy kicked it over so it's belly was exposed and the boy stabbed it with his shield. With the boar dead, Gray sprinted to Nia, bashing the Ursa she was fighting to the ground. Together, the two pounced on it, finishing it off quickly.

With the other two of GRIN, Rhys avoided danger by using his orbs at a longer range, while Iris closed the distance. The boy dazed the one Beringel in the pack, giving Iris time to rush up. Getting into medium range the girl jabbed her sword at the Grimm, detaching it and extending the range of her weapon, the weapon stabbed the beast and dragged it closer, as the sword reformed. Iris ran around the monster, stabbing it with the other jagged and divided parts of the sword. Once the Beringel was tied with with Iris' sword the girl activated her sword to return to normal, thus making it slide and slice and cut all along the beast, ripping off its armor plating on its arms, and even dismembering its arm.

The beast screamed in pain, only for it to go quiet in a single second. The Beringel fell over, its head splashing into smoke by the feet of Nia. The girl smiled and wiped the sweat from her brow. "Not bad everybody!" She complimented.

"He was mine, Nia!" Iris frowned.

"You didn't have your name on it." The blonde smiled mischievously.

"You jerk!" As the two bickered, Gray collapsed the large tower shield that belonged to his father, before walking next to Rhys.

"Is there like a town or village near by?"

"Mm, yeah but it's a hike. It's still in our general path, so we don't need to make a detour." Gray hummed as the girl's continued to argue.

"Good. That's good to hear."

"Gray," Rhys started. "Let's not overexert ourselves okay? Ruby wouldn't like to see us dead."

"I know Rhys. I just," The boy's brother patted him on the shoulder.

"I know you want to see her. But we can't tire ourselves out."

"I got you Rhys." The boy in question smiled and tucked his scroll.

"How could you steal that from me?!" Iris cried.

"Because it was all in good fun my love!" For some reason, the two became dramatic.

"Alright you two. Enough with the dramatics." Rhys said, walking ahead with Gray.

Nia inhaled deeply. "And, scene." The two sprinted to catch up with Rhys and Gray the two relatively silent. Nia noticed that Gray was slumped in his usual stature.

"So, you guys are in a rush," Iris said. "Our fearless leader, in a rush to see his little girl?" She teased. Nia glanced at her girlfriend and shook her head.

"Hey Gray?" Slowly, the boy slowed down his walking pace. "Gray, hey are you okay? Answer me your scaring me!" Rhys and Iris turned around to see Gray's face. He looked terrible. The boy then dropped to the ground, however before his face met the ground, Iris and Nia caught the boy. "Gray!" Nia held the boy in her arms, lightly slapping his face. "What the hell happened?!"

"I don't know! Rhys what do we do?!"

"Relax! Don't panic. He's probably just exhausted. We still don't truly understand what's up with him." Rhys looked into the sky. Night was going to fall soon and they couldn't make it to village at this rate. "Damn it. We're going to have to set up camp. Nia, you watch over him, Iris come with me we gotta find some wood." The team split up, Nia lying Gray down as she set up their sleeping bags. Nia glanced at the unconscious boy, her heart wrenching slightly.

"Gray…"

* * *

 **Just a quick note saying good luck to everyone starting another year of school! I'm starting my junior year and I just want to say good luck and have fun! And make the most out of your High School time as well! Have a great day or night.**


	21. An Eye For An Eye

"Have you seen this girl? No? Okay thanks." Nia and Iris asked, walking about a village that they stumbled into. Iris took a picture of her standing in front of a sign that displayed the village's name.

Nine.

"Nia, is it 'Nine'? Like the number?" The blonde shook her head.

"No silly, it's pronounced 'Knee-neigh'. Like your knee and… neigh!" The girl shouted.

"Hold your horses Nia." Iris giggled. The blonde sighed at the pun.

"That was good but I didn't like it."

"Come on. Not even a little?"

"No." Nia repeated.

"Now I know how Yang feels. Pour your heart out into a joke and people hate you for it."

Gray sat on the stairs of a, 'market' of sorts and watched the kids run and play. He smiled when Nia and Iris checked on him then ran off. It was interesting to see these villages, or at least this one.

Faunus and human were one community, everyone was accepted. The man rubbed his nonfunctional arm, trying to get some feeling but failing sadly. He watched the kids gather into a small circle whispering about stuff and glancing his way. Kids were so easy to read. Gray chuckled as Rhys sat next to him. "Hey."

"Hey." Gray said back. "Any luck with more clues?" The man shook his head.

"No not yet, we'll ask a bit longer before we just take a shot in the dark, who knows maybe they went the same path."

"We should try and get a map of sorts, they would follow routes. Thinking about it they might go from village to village you know?"

"Yeah you have a point. Alright, we'll get one as well. See you later, we're looking for like village leader of sorts." Rhys stood and walked off messing with is scroll. It made Gray smile, seeing how his team is almost putting him and Ruby first before their goal. The man turned to look ahead and saw a small child in front of him, a young eight year old child with ocean blue eyes and yellow hair. The thing that gave Gray interest into the kid as her Faunus fox ears, a familiar yellow.

"Hey kid. What's up?" Gray asked smiling and showing some of his normal and sharpened teeth.

"You-you looked like you were alone. My-my-my friends were talking about it and weren't doing anything so…"

"Well, that's very brave and nice of you to come over here. What's your name girlie?"

"Um, Sabry."

"That's a fancy name can I call you Sabby?" The girl grinned and nodded.

"Yeah! Yes!" Gray chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Um, what's yours mister?"

"Gray. I'm a Hunter of sorts." The girl's blue eyes widened with surprise and happiness.

"Really?!" Gray nodded. "Yay! My family has been looking for a Hunter for a while. And you look really nice and strong!"

"Why?" Sabby frowned and sat next to Gray on the stairs.

"There's been like a problem with Grimm. They've been getting really close to our town, and my house. I can hear them snarling when I'm in my room. It's scary."

"Hey, look what if I went to see your parents and try to resort this problem? Would you like that?"

"Yes!" Gray smiled and stood up.

"Well, before we go…" Gray looked at the store he was sitting at for a while. An idea formed in his head. "I wanna buy you something."

"Really mister Hunter?!" Gray nodded and opened the door to the store.

"Yeah, come on." The two entered the store and Sabby ran around looking for something. The store was mostly for clothes and 'jewelry'. "Sabby, go find a necklace or bracelet."

"Okay!" The girl danced around the store as Gray walked to the counter. The owner smiled, a middle aged man and leaned on the counter.

"This is awful generous of you. Buying something for a little girl you don't know."

"I'm a Hunter kinda. I want to help her out. Apparently her family is having trouble with Grimm?"

"Whole town has. Things have been getting rather odd around here. Grimm had… lines on their skulls. Not the usual red but, like a oddly bright orange or other colors. Their more hostile and less territorial. That girl lives around the outskirts. We had people to defend but, things didn't go to well." Gray ducked his head and nodded.

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that. Me and my team will try and do what we can." The man smiled.

"Thank you."

"Mister Hunter!" Sabby called. "I found one!" The girl ran up to Gray and showed him her necklace.

It was oddly well crafted. The necklace had a golden chain for the neck and the charm was a large topaz and holding the thing together was a golden holder of sorts, the topaz looked rather beautiful and it seemed to fit the girl. "That's interesting. You like it?" Gray asked.

"Yeah! Can I get it?" The young 'Hunter' turned to the man and paid for the necklace. The two then stepped out of the store, Sabby rather happy. "Thank you mister Hunter! Thank you so much!"

"No problem. I would help you put it on but…" Gray pointed at his inactive arm.

"Oh! I can take you to my parents! Come on!" The girl grabbed his right hand and dragged him through the town. Sabby led Gray to her house, it being a lovely and slightly large one story house. Sabby threw her sliding door opened and waved for Gray to enter. "Mommy! Daddy! I found a Hunter who can try and help us!" Gray entered the house and looked around, it's furniture was simple yet, stylish, paintings scattered the house, and more pictures covered the walls and sat on tables.

"Sabry what are you talking about?" A feminine voice called, Sabby groaned and ran into a connecting room, Gray's guess being a kitchen. "Oh my! Who bought you that necklace?!"

"The Hunter he's really sweet and nice and he's here!" Sabby ran back out into the living room, giving Gray a smile. A older woman rushed to the living room gasping when she saw the tall boy.

"Oh! Hello! My daughter wasn't lying."

"Moom! I don't lie!"

"You like to tell tales Sabby." The woman then cleared her throat and Gray got a better look at her.

The woman was a much older looking Sabby, the only difference the two had were their noses and eye color, Sabby's mom having emerald green. "Sorry, I'm Sabby's mother Cilo." Gray frowned and shook his head.

"Sorry, nice to meet you. I just have a history with that name." The little girl's mother frowned and folded her arms.

"Oh. So, are you with the other three visitors?"

"Yes ma'am. We were seeing if any of you seen a a small group and a young girl, fifteen, wears a lot of red and she was wearing a large hoodie?" Cilo tapped her chin, thinking.

"No can't say I seen anyone… wait, yes yes I have." Gray's wolf ear jumped up in excitement.

"Really?!"

"Yes, they came not too long ago. The girl seemed upset, they came by and asked if we needed anything."

"But you told me to stay quiet!" Sabby intervened.

"Yes, I did and I apologize."

"Did you see where they left? Which direction."

"Mm, to the north? I was more focused on my duties then them."

"That's good enough. Now, Sabby said you've been hearing Grimm come closer?" Cilo nodded.

"Yes. They've been getting more, violent. This morning we found a Beowolf too close to the village. We sent a few to investigate their rising presence but… they haven't come back."

"When did this issue start to happen?"

"One week ago." Sabby said.

"When did you send those people." Cilo looked down, twiddling her fingers.

"Three days ago." Sabby's mother turned to her and softly smiled. "Sweetie, why don't you go play outside? Show your friends your new necklace." The little girl grinned and nodded before hugging her mother. Just as she ran out, the girl ran back in and gave Gray a hug as well.

"Thank you mister Hunter!" The two 'grownups' laughed as the girl closed the door to her house.

"Now, have you sent any others?"

"No, we're a small village. We'd like to but…"

"I understand. Look, there isn't much that we can go off of but, we'll check it out. Kill any Grimm we see."

"Oh, just that will calm some of the people here. Including Sabby. But, you four are looking for someone…"

"We'll do it. Don't worry." Cilo looked at him with happiness and joy.

"Oh thank you! Thank you Mr…"

"Gray. You can call me Gray." The boy stood up and left the house, looking for his team.

"Gray! There you are!" Nia called, running up to him with Iris behind her. "What were you doing in that house?"

"We need to do something here. Clear out the forest behind that house."

"Why?" Iris asked as the three walked through the village's streets.

"They've been a little too grabby with this place." Nia nodded in understanding but jumped in Gray way.

"But, we're after Ruby right? If we make any delays we might not be able to catch up with her."

"Yeah but…"

"Look, we'll do this one thing and then we have to stay focused alright Gray?" Iris said. "We need to keep moving if we want to meet up with Ruby, if we're all together KIN and Cinder won't be a problem." Gray nodded. "Hey, don't get upset. You're a good guy that wants to help these people."

"And that's exactly what we're gonna do!" Nia added. "Let's find Rhys." As the trio walked away from Sabby's house a man trailed them far behind, a ember appearing from his hand.

"Their here. I'm in pursuit."

* * *

"So, why are we doing this? We're in a rush." Rhys said and once again he has a point.

"We can't leave them like this, who knows what will happen. So we do this real quick then back to work." Rhys hummed.

"I would just leave now but… I understand." Nia ducked down and scanned the dirt pointing to the north.

"These tracks lead north. Maybe there's a pack there, we slay that and then bam. We got our job done."

"Hopefully it is a pack, Gray can you handle it." Gray growled but nodded.

"Yes, I can last time it was just… I don't know what it was but I can take it." Iris rubbed the boy's back to calm him.

"It's okay Gray we're just asking. Don't push yourself." The boy nodded as they now, crept through the section of the forest that was behind Nine. Nia stood straight and unsheathed her weapons.

"Their close. Let's take care of this little group and get back on track. Okay?" The rest nodded and Nia smiled. "Let's get to work then. Rains comin' in too"

* * *

Ruby sat in a chair, watching the rain pour down and hit the window in front of her. The girl rested her arm on the desk to her left, her foot tapping with anxiety. She felt useless right now, she was supposed to rush to Mistral and take out Katherine and the remains of KING and here she was hiding from this downpour. The girl huffed playing with the strings of Gray's hoodie.

It gave her some comfort.

The girl slipped her arms into the center of the hoodie, tucking her legs in too. Ruby hugged her legs, still staring at the rain. Times like these gave her time to think and reset. Her target crossed her mind. Katherine. Ruby bit her lip. This was the first person she truly had hated. With a passion. Katherine caused all this misery that Ruby felt, that she hid.

Ruby couldn't wait to met her again. That's all she wanted, to have Katherine in front of her so her decision could be made. A knock on Ruby's door made her stand up, the hoodie covering her. Opening it, Ruby smiled at the sight of her uncle. "Uncle Qrow. What's up?" The man walked inside and grabbed a chair.

"Checkin' up on everyone. But mostly you. How ya holdin' up?" Ruby took a seat on her bed, hiding her hands in her prized hoodie.

"Okay. Just a lot of thinking." The man nodded, running his fingers on his flask.

"Understandable. You know this is a lot for you to take in and do at this age."

Ruby hummed. "Yeah I know, but I can be very mature for my age." Qrow laughed and his niece folded her arms. "I can!"

"I know Little Rose. What were you thinking about?"

"Uh, my goals. What I want and what I'm after…" Ruby twiddled her thumbs.

"Yea, KIN and what else?" Ruby sighed as her uncle asked.

"It's cheesy but… before we left I wanted to see Gray. You know? Before we left. Just to see how he's doing." Qrow raised his eyebrows in interest. "Well, it's because I… miss him. A lot. This is also why we're or I'm after Katherine. For what she did to him. He can't feel his arm, I remember Rhys telling me that before my scroll died. Don't you think these things should be like. Solar powered in case were left in the dark? Off topic." The little leader shook her head. "It's just awkward to talk to you about him since, you're my uncle." Having a mom talk would be great now. "But, I just want to see him. But now I can't, and I can't let that distract me as much as it is right now."

Qrow smiled, standing up and resting a hand on his nieces shoulder. "I'll tell you this…" The man opened her door and stood in front of it. "You think Gray's out of the fight right? Same with his partner?"

"Y-yes?" Ruby answered, confused.

"Well, I talked to Rhys' parents, they were taking care of Gray and his partner." The man grinned. "Well, Gray and Nia were released about a week ago. No one knows where they are. See you later Little Rose." Ruby stared at her door, what was the point in that? Wait… no that's not it.

Oh! Crap Ruby lost her train of thought. Ah-ha! Darn it!

The then gasped finally understanding what her uncle meant.

* * *

GRIN trudged through the forest as the rain poured down on them. Nia groaned and occasionally ran ahead to get to a tree that stopped the rain. As they reached Nine, Nia ran to another tree only for the leaves to buckle under the weight and showering her in rainwater. "Ah!" She screamed, her teammates laughing at her. The four rushed to Sabby's home knocking on the door. Nothing could be heard through the door due to the harsh rain but abruptly, Sabby's mother opened the door.

"Oh, GRIN! Please come in, it's horrible out there." Cilo let the four inside, the team staying at the doorway, not wanting to ruin their house. As they entered, a man strolled into the center of the street.

"Oh, please relax, the rain is fine." Gray stood behind Sabby's family couch, Nia and Iris sitting in it and Rhys still at the door. "So, did you clear out the Grimm?" Rhys nodded.

"Yes ma'am. There shouldn't be any problems now. We even went a little overboard." Cilo smiled relieved. Quickly, Sabby ran into the room and jumped in joy when she saw GRIN return, more specifically her Hunter friend Gray.

"Mr. Hunter! Your back!" She yipped, leaping into him.

"Hello Sabby. The big Grimm won't bother you guys for a while!"

"Really?!" She gasped. "Thank you! I knew you could do it! You looked so big and strong I knew you could do it!" Cilo smiled at her daughter, the rest of GRIN doing the same. Suddenly, glass shattering pounded in everyone's eardrums. Turning to the left of the front door, everyone saw glass on the floor of Sabby's home and not to far from it…

Was a fireball. A dangerously familiar fireball.

"Get down!" Gray screamed, grabbing Sabby forcefully and shielding her. Nia and Iris tackled Cilo and Rhys ducked behind the couch. A loud fiery explosion, rocked the house. After the big boom Gray looked up, seeing the left side of the house and the front on fire. The man gritted his teeth and let go of Sabby. "Rhys! Iris! Help Sabby and Cilo get out! Nia, with me!" The blonde nodded and the two rushed out the front door, spotting a lone man in the village street with a small flicker of fire in his hand. Gray balled his hand in heated anger. "The fuck is wrong with you are you crazy?!" Nia turned to her leader unsheathing Dexterity.

"Gray, look at his chest…" The boy narrowed his eye.

"White Fang…" Gray shook his head even more angry. "So you guys want to be copies of Katherine, Huh?! Kill innocents?! Fine by me." Gray activated his shield, standing up straight. "Let's just day this is an eye for an eye." The boy pulled his shield to block the main center of his body, leaving his lower legs and top of his face exposed. The boy rushed the White Fang Katherine-wannabe, Nia using him as a mobile shield.

The man snapped his fingers at the ground in front of him, a fiery explosion happening at Gray's feet. The boy shrugged it off and smashed into the White Fang, pushing him back. Nia leaped over Gray and landed on the man's shoulders, placing her blades at his neck and slicing, leaping off of him as she did so. Landing behind the White Fang monster, Nia began another rush, since his back was toward her and Gray did the same. The man crouched down and planted his hand on the ground.

Just as the two reached him another flaming explosion rocketed them back and also suspended The Katherine wannabe into the air. Growling Gray closed his father's shield and grabbed his Broken Stem from his back. With one hand this'll be difficult but…

Gray was not focused on that. With a sharp tooth and intense glare, Gray rushed ahead not thinking. "Gray! Slow down!" Rhys yelled, but the warning fell upon deaf ears. As the Kath-wannabe fell, his hands were engulfed in flames. Pulling the triggers on his weapon, Broken Stem switched to its scythe form. Yelling, Gray held the weapon in a reverse fashion, the blade now digging into the ground and trailing behind the boy. Leaping into the air with proper timing, Gray ripped the lads upward into the air and hitting the man in the process, ascending and keeping the White Fang in the air. Arching his body, Gray handled and switched his grasp , slightly behind the man in the air. The boy hooked the man by the throat and dragged him into Gray, his legs extended at the man's lower back. The drag cut at the man's throat but his Aura held on but wavered as they both landed, one actually landing and the other collapsing to the ground. Gray quickly turned around and returned his weapon to its rightful home, his lower back.

Summoning his shield once again, Gray closed the distance and dragged the man out of the center or Nine, throwing him into a slightly more open area. Shaken up and drained, the White Fang held up his hands. "You think you know how to control that?" Gray asked. "How many of you are there?"

"Enough to wage a war." Gray bit his lip. The man threw a fireball at Gray but the boy deflected it off his shield, the ball falling into the wet grass. The Kath-wannabe's fire was starting to get weak, nullified by the heavy rain. As a final charge, Gray bashes the man before sweeping out his feet, quickly standing up and giving off a harsh kick to the White Fang's chest, shattering his Aura right there. The White Fang tried to crawl away, and into the forest only for Gray to step on his hand.

The White Fang stared at Gray's lifeless and lightly scorched arm, before looking into his eye. "Now, what's your plan with Mistral? Why's Katherine there? And why are you assholes getting Dust inside you." The White Fang scoffed and glared at Gray.

"Like I'd tell you." Frowning, Gray gripped Broken Stem in it's collapsed state and threw it down where his foot was.

On the man's hand.

The sickening sound of meat slicing and bones breaking broke through the heavy sounds of rainfall and thunder. The White Fang screamed in agony, tears mixing in with the rain on his face. "You wanna tell me now?" Gray asked calmly, his face empty. "No? Okay." Gray stood up and kicked the man over, making him lie in his back. Gray transformed his collapsed weapon into a axe and rested it on the White Fang's chest.

"Wait! All I know is that, the rest of KING is there and their making more White Fang like me there too. Their creating more to stop this girl with silver eyes! But, now we'll be hunting you too now." Gray's face didn't change as he rested his now axe on his shoulder.

"Good to know." Gray stepped back and raised his hand, the White Fang staring into the swords deadly blade. This was going to take his life. A seventeen-year-old kid. Throwing the axe down, the blade ripped through the man like butter, his chest collapsing under the pressure, his chest cavity shattering and buckling. The Katherine wannabe stared at his chest in horror, screaming a bloody scream however it couldn't be heard over the lightning and thunder. The man began to choke on his blood, bones stabbing into his already pierced lungs making him unable to breathe. Gray ripped the axe out from the man watching him try and crawl away on his stomach. Wanting this to be over, Gray threw the axe down again, silencing the man's groans and gasps for air. The man lied still and Gray removed his weapon from the corpse. Collapsing it Gray scabbed the thing.

Blood was mixed with the showering rainwater, and the light that the lightning gave off made the blood look weird like, almost a dark tar state. The blood washed off the blade due to the rain but, it burned in his mind.

Gray has killed someone.

And it wasn't a 'I had lost control' situation. He was in full control. He took that man's life, either it was just or not Gray took it. "Gray?" The familiar voice of Nia asked. As she approached. "Oh my…" The girl covered her mouth as she saw the man's corpse. "You-you killed him right? Self-defense?" Gray shook his head.

"No." Nia swallowed hard.

"He deserved it. He tried to kill us after all. He almost killed Sabby and Cilo. Also, we got them out Rhys is dealing with the fire now." Gray nodded as Nia informed him. "I don't think you made the wrong choice. An eye for an eye after all. Come on, let's head back to Nine."

"Yeah." Gray said. "An eye for an eye…" Gray thought about Ruby. What would she think? Would she understand his choice, his sudden code out here? His team is being hunted and so is Ruby. Gray sheathed his weapon and balled his fist. "An eye for an eye…" Gray trailed back to Nine, finding Sabby and Cilo. Not seeing the man's body spark into flames that couldn't be put out.

As Gray returned he saw that the house had charred parts but was luckily still intact surprisingly. Gray ducked down to Sabby's level patting her head. "We have to go now Sabby. It's better for you and Nine." The girl frowned and nodded. "Your gonna be brave now right? Your gonna help protect you mom?" The girl nodded.

"Yea! I'll even become a Hunter if I have to!" Gray smiled.

"You don't have to do. Be what you think you'll love."

"Do you love being a Hunter?" Gray laughed nervously and nodded.

"Yeah, I do." Sabby pumped a fist.

"Well, I wanna make you proud so… I'm gonna be a Hunter too! And I'll help protect Nine! And other villages! And the whole world!"

Gray held his hand in front of him. "You don't have to do that, Sabby."

"But I want to! You said yourself that I should do what I love and I know I'll love that even more so if I make you, or mommy or daddy proud! Just watch!" Gray sighed and smiled.

"You got me there kid. Lemme see your necklace?" The girl willingly gave the necklace to Gray, grabbing Broken Stem, Gray flipped the necklace over and held the charm, scraping letters into the back. The man then waved his fingers around what he drew and grinned. "Here. Now, your secretly apart of GRIN. Sabby looked at the necklace seeing what Gray wrote. On top was in all caps and in shaky writing: GRIN and below that was the large letter S. "One day you might be the leader of your own team."

Sabby gasped and looked up into Gray's eye. "Does that mean we're GRINS now?"

"Yup." Nia said with a smile. "As long as you have that necklace your apart of GRIN and it'll keep you brave and smiling. Share that with others, give them a reason to smile and grin. Also, we want you to stay here and grow up all big and strong so one day you can help us and save the day."

"Okay! Okay! I'll do it! Thank you Gray so much " Rhys then stood up from behind.

"Gray we should be going." Cilo frowned.

"So soon? It is raining after all."

"We don't want to overstay our welcome Miss Cilo. Also we may bring danger here. So we must leave." The woman nodded in understanding.

"Wait! Before you go Mr. Hunter!" Sabby ran to her room and quickly returned with two things. "Take these, it's one of my bracelets." The girl slipped it onto Gray's lifeless arm. "And one of my favorite dolls! I got them at the same time so… maybe if you have both it'll bring your arm back and make you even stronger!" Gray grinned and ruffled the girl's hair.

"That's very kind of you Sabby but. You should keep the doll, after all I can already feel the bracelets power heal my arm." The girl reluctantly grabbed the doll and Gray stood up. "We should really be going. Thank you for your hospitality Cilo. Until next time." The four left the house and waved goodbye.

"Farewell! Have a safe trip!"

"Bye Gray! Thank you!" Sabry wave, grasping her necklace. Nia smiled and waved back along with her girlfriend.

The four soon left Nine, rushing to catch up with Ruby.


	22. Unexpected Rendezvous

Inspiration could turn into jealousy fairly quickly. Yang looked at her arm or… her 'used to be' arm. Nia inspired Yang, that's for sure. Seeing someone recover like that but… still know that things won't return to the status quo was impressive. Yang wanted that too. To feel relevant. " _… Makes me feel relevant again…_ " Nia's words ran through her head as she looked at it. The choice of prosthetics was there. General Ironwood had visited not long ago and gifted her an arm, for when she wanted to return to the fight. " _…It's cool but…_ " Yang sat up from her bed, looking at the Atlas box in her room. " _… After a while you start to realize it isn't really you…_ " Nia had excepted it so easily. Yang wanted to be like that, GRIN was going after KING along with her baby sister and here she was… wallowing in her own sadness. It was so easy to do, accepting this as her new reality. In a way..

Having a way to fix this didn't help.

And it made Yang jealous of Nia… of Gray. Both of them in the same shoes in a way. The loss of a leg and an arm and the feeling of not being able to feel your arm that's there. How did that feel? Did it damage Gray just as bad as Yang is currently? The blonde sighed and opened the box, looking at the sleek and sharp design of prosthetic arm Ironwood had gave her. It looked perfect. It was her way out, her way to help others and be who she wanted to be. " _… But still, you can't let that stop you from being who you want to be…_ " Yang sighed again and brushed a strand of her golden locks out of her face, standing up the blonde walked down stairs, hearing laughter and such. The sounds of joy were coming from the kitchen and the girl slipped inside, seeing her two teachers at her table.

"Miss Xiao Long!" Oobleck shouted, her father and professor Port turning around to see her.

"Hello, Professor Port, Oobleck. There a party down here?" The girl joked, however lacking the enthusiasm to make the joke a 'joke'.

"We are merely catching up. It has been a little while. And to check up on you miss Xiao Long." Port explained. The girl nodded and hopped onto the counter in the kitchen.

"You know what happened to Ruby right?"

"Yes, your sister has gone on her own journey." Port nodded.

Oobleck hummed to himself. "It's both worrying and admirable. A young girl taking on a big task." Yang nodded.

"I was worried bad…" She remembered the sure and positive faces of GRIN. "But, she has some backup coming and I think it's the best kind for her." Taiyang nodded, folding his arms.

"Backup?" Oobleck asked as the female blonde nodded.

"GRIN is going after them." Oobleck stood up.

"What?! In their condition?!"

Port nodded, staying in his seat. "I must say that is troubling." Taiyang hummed in agreement.

"I said the same thing, but they look better from what Qrow told me before the fall." Yang watched the men discuss, staying silent.

"Mm, I hope success from them."

Oobleck glanced at Yang and shifted as Taiyang rested a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, that Nia May girl gave Yang some words since their in the same shoes in a way." Taiyang thought for a moment. "When are you getting back out there Yang?" Oobleck and Port went quiet.

"Uh… I don't know."

"You have all the ways to get started." Taiyang sighed. "Look, I know it's hard."

"Dad…"

"But, you can't sit around and be miserable, everyone gets a setback and sometimes those setbacks push you into a hole that you don't think you can get out of. The only way up is to get some rope. That arm up in your room is your rope. Use it and get out there and be who you want to be. Just like Nia said." Yang glanced at her arm. It made her angry.

It was making her stop being who she was. But not anymore. She could still feel her arm there, but not really. Just what Nia had said.

Inspiration could turn into jealousy fairly quickly.

But Jealousy could be the best motivational push.

* * *

Weiss twiddled her thumbs constantly thinking of outcomes of what she was about to do. She will keep her promise with Rhys. She hadn't messaged him or anything, due to being busy and having her scroll taken so, she had to rely on her thoughts. GRIN was capable of handling themselves but she had doubts. A knock on her door made the girl jump and rush to it. "Miss Schnee! It's me, Klein!" A hushed whisper of her butler made the heiress open the door and drag him inside.

"Is Rhys' parents here?"

"Yes, so we have to hurry, this will be the only time that you can leave." Klein explained. "Do you having everything in order?" Weiss nodded and grabbed her rapier and briefcase, ready to escape this prison of hers. "Okay, please follow me." The two rushed out Weiss' room, the owner not even giving it a second look before closing the door. The hallways all felt the same, closed off from the world and hiding the true intentions of her family. Weiss didn't want to be in this place any longer. Klein checked each hallway before beckoning Weiss to follow. Running down the almost never-ending hallways, the two walked past rooms and doors the heiress spent her time in when she was young. Walking past on in particular made Weiss slow down, hearing familiar voices inside.

"So, Jacob… Adelyn. I'm glad you could come by and speak with me. How's Rhys?" Inside, Jacob adjusted the burgundy vest he wore and straightened his deep dark orange tie as Adelyn took a seat, crossing her legs.

Jacob faced the man and cleared his throat. "He's fine. Living his life and becoming on who he wants to be." Weiss' father chuckled.

"Just like you, huh Adelyn?"

"Very much so, and that why we tend to not stop him. Even if something could be irrational. We support him in every way." Jacques sighed.

"I believe you lucked out on the seed you had. Most kids would take your kindness for granted." Weiss shook her head, she had to leave and Rhys' parents were giving her a chance. Rushing to catch up with Klein, who wasn't too far ahead, together the two slipped into the library.

"Miss Schnee, this is where we'll go our separate ways." Klein said, opening the secret exit to the manor.

"Will you be okay here? Things might happen…" Weiss muttered.

"Don't worry about me Weiss. Everything will be peachy!" Klein switched personalities and the heiress nodded.

"Alright. Thank you. For everything, for being there for me and being my friend when I needed one." Weiss embraced the man, hugging him for a while before returning to the task at hand. Weiss ducked inside and turned around to see her only friend in this 'Home' of hers before continuing onwards. "No going back now.

* * *

"Just think! There's no going back now!"

"Nia, two weeks ago there was no going back." Rhys stated.

"Noooo! We could've given up a while ago but, now! I'm sure we're right behind Ruby and the others." Nia pumped her fist as light broke through trees and highlighted their path.

Iris tapped his chin as she rolled her shoulder, adjusting her large sword. "I wouldn't say 'sure', I'm positive that we're close."

Gray snickered and shook his head. "Guys please."

"What? We're just excited! One quarter of our mission is almost complete! Who wouldn't be happy?!"

Iris nodded in understanding. "Yep. Oh! Nia, you'll get to take an awesome picture with everyone!" Nia gasped and leaped into the air.

"Yes! Just think my photography expertise will shine! It's been a while since we've taken a group picture." Nia then gasped again. "We could get a picture with Weiss when we meet up with her!" The blonde races ahead and grabbed Gray's arm. "Come on big boy! We gotta hurry! The shots are running through my mind!"

"Nia slow down! You'll take my other arm with you then I'll be useless!" Gray pleaded. Nia sighed and skipped ahead, her metallic foot digging into the dirt road. Iris joined in the skipping while Rhys smiled and rubbed his chin, watching the girls rush ahead.

"We should be on our guard. Last I checked there was a village that had gone quiet."

"Did the last village tell you that?" Gray asked, rubbing his arm.

"Yeah. The two had a trading relationship going on. Could be bandits or Grimm. Or worse."

"Katherine's little Dust goons." Rhys nodded.

"So, when we get closer we should get ready for anything." The boy looked at his brothers arm. "How's your arm doing?"

"Still nothing. But, sometimes I get like a feeling when I rub it. Like right now."

Rhys smiled. "Hey, that's progress. Soon you'll be back to your former glory." Gray scoffed and shoved Rhys.

"Hey I'm pretty badass right now. A wandering Hunter who only uses one arm!" Gray smiled. "Sounds pretty cool to me."

"Yeah, but just think with your other arm back you'll be able to do a whole bunch other stuff." Gray nodded, looking up into the sky and seeing the pure blue sky. "I have a question."

"Shoot." Gray said, Iris and Nia starting to slow down and keep pace with the two.

"What do you want more? Ruby or getting Katherine." Gray frowned as Rhys waited for a response.

"Hmm… that's tough. The main objective is Katherine so… her. I want nothing more than to have her at my mercy." Rhys nodded, understanding the reasoning along with Nia and Iris.

"I'm right there with you. She needs to be stopped. This madness needs to be stopped."

The four continued to walk Rhys and Gray glancing at the map while Nia and Iris ran around, picking flowers and messing with the group.

The atmosphere to this part of the forest was oddly tranquil. Tranquil, with a slight tenseness to it, like something was watching or aware of their presence. However, the GRIN crew continued to make progress as the sun reached its apex and clouds began to conceal it. "You guys think it'll rain?" Iris asked. Nia shook her head furiously.

"No! It better not! I'm tired of rain! We walk in the rain, fight in the rain! I'm tired of washing my foot of mud after every few days."

Iris flicked the girl's head and Nia pouted. "That's why you wear you know, two shoes instead of one and showing off you metal leg you goof."

"Don't flick me! I'll have you know that a lot of people think that me wearing a boot is cool! Right Rhys? Gray?" The boys nodded as they kept their heads in the map. "See? I'm sure the people of Nine would agree too! So ha!"

Iris rolled her eyes. "I guess you being cool overlaps the fact on how you have to clean you leg then. Guess I'm wrong." Nia huffed in satisfaction and folded her arms.

"Exactly!.. Wait, what?" The trio laughed at the girl and walked ahead, the clouds remained 'normal' not getting any darker nor causing any precipitation. All an all it was a great day for catching up and a fantastic day for reuniting with old friends and 'girlfriends'.

* * *

Qrow and his niece stood at the entrance to a village, the atmosphere of it was odd. Clearly something happened here, buildings and even the road was broken and shattered or dug up. "What happened here?" Ruby asked looking for something from her uncle.

"No clue. But Bandits surely didn't do this. Probably Grimm. Stay on your toes." Further inside the village was Ren and Nora searched the place for any clues. The village was so off-putting. It felt so dark and gloomy but the sky and weather was incredible. Nora gasped when she found a 'clue'. "Ren! Guys! Look at this!" The group conglomerated around the thing Nora found, a few gasping. Hunters, or at least the remains of them were scattered in the center.

One had his legs shattered, shards or ice embedded into his knees. Next to him was a slab of rock.

Ruby walked up to it and looked at the side before gasping and jumping back in shock. There was another hunter pinned in between the slab and the rubble of a building, dried blood covered her face and bones poked out jagged and in pieces.

"What happened here?! Grimm couldn't have done this!" Ruby yelled. Qrow nodded seeing a charred building give out a small billow of smoke.

"Yeah, stay alert, and let's make our way outta here." The group nodded and strode through the town, rock and even ice appearing in odd places. Ahead, Qrow stopped feeling something off.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.

"What's wrong?" Jaune asked. Qrow continued to listen, before quickly doing a spin and facing the others. Rushing behind them, Qrow pulled up his sword…

Blocking a sudden strike by a ambusher. The ambusher giggled and leaped back, alerting the others. Ruby lifted her sniper up and aimed at him as the man continued to giggle. "Oh, such a chase you put me through, but oh was it great!"

"Who are you?!" Ruby yelled, the man slapped his face and bowed.

"My apologies. I'm Tyrian." The man grinned as he walked side to side. "Now… let's get started!" Tyrian held his arms out and fired at the group, Ren and Nora attacking the madman.

Or at least tried to. Tyrian threw the two around and put them exactly where he wanted them. Qrow rushed the madman as he kicked him away from Ren and Nora as Ruby fired at Tyrian. Tyrian ducked under Qrow's attack while preparing a kick only for Qrow to block and holding his leg. Grinning, Tyrian fired at Ruby and Jaune as Ren and Nora recovered.

Qrow swiped out the other leg of Tyrian before throwing him at a building, Tyrian recovering as soon as he was thrown. Reckless, Ruby dashed at Tyrian, passing him while slashing at his throat. Said man effortlessly dodged and pursued her, kicking the girl in the back then quickly grabbing his hood, dragging her back into a punch. The little leader recoiled from the punch only for the grinning madman to continue to attack her, somehow evading Ruby Ren, Nora and Jaune as a collective, throwing the remains of JNPR away and leaving Ruby close.

Hearing Qrow creep up to him, Tyrian kicked Ruby away and slightly tilted his head, Qrow's blade missing. "Honestly, Cinder had trouble with all of you? She is weak!" The man giggled and kicked Qrow's shin while using the force of the attack to step back and leap at the Hunter. Tyrian tackled the man and took him off his feet, before rolling and throwing Qrow across the street they were in.

Cinder's comrade turned around and barely ducked a swipe of Ruby's scythe, sweeping the girl's legs out from under her. "So effortlessly easy!" The man bend over backwards, literally and held his arms out, firing at the retaliating Jaune and Ren. The two seemed to cover and tried to think of a way to help. Tyrian stood up straight again and kicked Ruby in the side, pushing her back and breaking her pathetic Aura in the process. "I must say, thank you for making this so easy!" The man sprinted to Ruby, ready to end it.

The leader was shocked, unable to move. This man just came out of nowhere. None of them could land a solid hit, even Qrow her uncle. The leader sat there watching Tyrian close the distance before closing her eyes in anticipation and fear. Qrow rushed to try and stop Tyrian but he was too far back, he wouldn't be able to catch up in time. Said madman slid on his knees and threw his arms foreword.

An dull slam rebounded off the village buildings along with gasps and finally, a loud and hard crash. Slow opening her eyes, Ruby's silver eyes widened in surprise.

In front of her stood a man clad in a dark blue turtleneck and combat jeans. On the back of his turtleneck was a large G. The man stood tall and strong, a large tower shield connected to his right arm, his left slack and lifeless looking at his side.

"Gray?!" The man, stood up straight as his shield collapsed. "I-" Nia rushed up to her partner, Iris and Rhys right behind her.

"Good thing we were close by, who is this guy?" Gray's partner asked.

Gray narrowed his eye and clenched his hand.

"No clue, but he's attacking everybody."

Iris stood close and sighed, her weapon resting on her shoulder. "Great reunion, saving everyone and then straight to action!"

"Shut up Dummkopf and focus. He could be a Dust Fang." Dust Fang? Ruby stared at the four in confusion before analyzing Gray's left arm. As the man brought in his shield up again she noticed that Gray's arm sat there, like his couldn't control it or move it. Across the open area, Tyrian growled and fell out of the hole he was in, probably from Gray smashing into him. Ruby snapped her head to GRIN more so on focusing on the leader. "Gray, what's the plan?"

Flexing, Gray protected his body from his nose down to his ankles with his shield.

"Take him down. No bother for questioning."

"Rodger." Nia and Iris said together rushing ahead. Rhys formed more orbs and stayed back as Gray joined the girls. Tyrian ran to meet them halfway and the girls of GRIN nodded to each other. Nia leaped into the air as Iris began to swing her sword like a bat. Suddenly in one second, Nia was behind Tyrian with her foot in his back, kicking him into Iris' preemptive swing. By the time Tyrian realized that Nia pushed him closer to Iris from ten meters to only to two in one second, it was too late. The brunette slammed her sword into Tyrian and flung him back to the same building he crashed into, Gray sprinting past Iris. The leader of GRIN held his shield up and slammed into Tyrian once again, breaking through the building and running through the inside and out the back part.

Still running, Gray stopped and flung Tyrian back, said man clawing at the ground to stop himself. "You bastards! Your that beast right? The one Cinder was supposed to take care of?!"

Gray's eye narrowed as his left arm tingled. "Guess I'm famous."

"Doesn't matter your gonna die like the dog you are!" Tyrian sprinted head first and kicked Gray's shield away before flipping and tackling the boy, cartwheeling away from him. Tyrian had a few seconds to himself with Gray and he planned on killing this bastard. As Gray stood, he blocked all of Tyrian's maneuvers and attacks meanwhile his anger spiked, the frustration of seeing this man ambush Ruby and his friends getting to him. Blocking a blow meant for his leg Gray shoved his adversary back, feeling his left hand clench. "Die!" Tyrian screamed as he threw his whole body into Gray.

Said boy bit his lip hard, blood leaking out. The feeling of rage overwhelmed his left arm as he forced his shield and bashed Tyrian hard with his shield, stunning the man with the harsh and blunt strike. Returning his arm to his side Gray's left hand rushed to his enemy and gripped his face, clutching Tyrian's head tightly. "Finally!" Gray yelled. The boy smashed his right fist and the top of his buckler into Tyrian's noggin, the punch leading down. With another bash upward, Gray left his opponent open for a final assault. Spinning on his right heel clockwise the Hunter balled his left hand once more, slamming it into Tyrian's stomach and ripping it upwards and sending the madman flying.

Running around the building Gray and Tyrian ran through, Nia, Iris and Rhys saw their leader standing in front of the wrecked building and staring at the one collapsing in front of them. "Gray! Is everything-wha!" Nia asked before gasping, seeing Gray flex his left arm.

The boy growls and snickers, blood leaking from his bottom lip. The boy reached behind him and grabbed his own weapon, Broken Stem and clutched it tightly enjoying the new feeling of his weapon. His nose flares as Tyrian falls out of the building, Aura flickering.

The man struggles to stand and quickly shakes his head at the sound of running. The man yells as a hand roughly grabs his head, instinctively stabbing the hand with his scorpion hair tail. "So, your just some disgusting insect huh?" Gray's knees buries itself in the man's face, shattering his Aura. "A disgusting insect trying to take me down." The boy threw out a right punch but Tyrian managed to scramble back and snarled.

"Katherine should've killed you, you bastard! I'll make you pay next time!" Gray scoffed and closed his shield while tossing his blade in between his hands.

"Next time? Pff! You're not leaving." The Hunter sprinted ahead and dragged his blade along the ground, ripping it upward to swipe air. Using momentum he continued his assault while transforming his weapon and implementing various things to his advantage. "At least, not intact." He swiped out the villainous cowards legs and kicked him back, Tyrian sliding back. The man rubbed his face and screamed as a cold blade planted itself in his tail. Gray rolled his left arm as he squatted in front of Tyrian. "You'll grown that back right? No? Oops!" The boy flashed a rather intimidating grin. Cinder's comrade kicked the boy away and clutched his tail and snarled.

"You motherfucker! I'll hunt you down and rip you limb from limb!" At this rate Tyrian needed to flee so, he did. The man sprinted out of the village as the clouds in the sky turned from a pure white to a gray. The boy continued to roll his shoulder as he watched the psycho leave.

"Gray!" Rhys yelled out as Nia stood in between Gray and where Tyrian ran off. "Are you okay?"

The leader nodded and smiled. "I feel great, thanks. So he wasn't one of Katherine's goons but more of a accomplice. Great…" Rhys nodded as his orbs floated around.

"Indeed. More trouble for us I guess." Iris sighed and dig her sword into the ground as Nia giggled.

"Our job just can't seem to get any easier huh?"

"Oh don't be like that Iris! More adventures!" Nia chirped. Her partner nodded in agreement and rubbed her head with his left hand. "Gray! Your arm! You can move it!"

"Yeah, when I was fighting that dude I felt so angry and all of a sudden-boosh! A super uppercut from the left! You should've seen it Nia, it was awesome!" Rhys sighed as the two geeked out.

"He doesn't seem to be too curious about why his arm is functioning again."

"Yep." Iris barked. "Oh well, we could just say all he needed was something to piss him off!"

"Even you don't care that much. Well, no real sense dwelling on it, let's get back to the others." GRIN as a collective leave and find the remains of JNPR and Ruby with her uncle taking a breather. Ruby glanced up and leaped up to meet the four.

"Thank you, you guys! We were getting messed up kinda bad there so thanks." The girl then turned to Gray. "Gray…" She whimpered, eye's welling up with tears. Said boy stopped his flexing of his left arm and smiled softly.

"Ruby… I missed you. It's been a while… haha…" The boys team steps away as Ruby slowly breaks down, her face scrunching up as tears slowly fall down her face. "Ruby…" The girl throws herself into him and clutches him tightly.

"I missed you so much Gray… I did this for you… I left so I-I-I could get back at Katherine… now you're h-h-here." The small girl pulled back to see his face. "You h-have a little beard growing… your ears… they're free too. God, Gray… you look so different now."

"Is that bad?" He snickered. Ruby shook her head, tears flicking off her face.

"No, not at all you dummy! It's fine! Please just hold me." The boy pulled her close and bend to one knee as her legs gave out. "I'm so glad you're here with me Gray…" The boy smiled as Ruby's grip tightened as if he'd pull away. The girl continued to sob hot tears of joy and occasionally whimper, Gray's only response being to rub her back.

"I'm glad I came in time Ruby, I'm proud of you. Your so strong to do this and not give up on the way. We'll take down Katherine together. And her goons." The two stayed quiet as Ruby continued to cry, RIN, Qrow and JNR watching silently.

"One fourth of our mission is complete guys." Nia smirked as she took a shot of the two. The clouds in the sky left a few small, sparse spots of light on the ground within the shot and it looked just.

Ah!

Perfection.

Rhys nodded and shook his head. "Don't forget guys, we still have three quarters left."


	23. Acceptance

That night, the large group of hunters sat within the safety and danger of the forest, and as the moon slowly did its rounds the group sat down and talked. "Nia, I really like your arm and leg!" Ruby said as she sat next to Gray, the boy messing with his weapon for the time being. Nora nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! It looks so cool." Nia waves her hand as a way to dismiss the compliments.

"Please please! Your too kind. If only a certain someone also thought they were cool." The blonde stared at her girlfriend and put intense emphasis on it. "And Rhys' parents made them. Out of complete love!" Nora smiled next to Ren and Ruby placed her head on Gray's shoulder. The little girl then looked into his eye.

"So, ever since the fall you couldn't move you left arm?" She asked.

Gray nodded. "Yup. Couldn't feel a thing. However, when we visited one village I began to feel my muscles tighten and flex. But when I wasn't trying to. Weird." The man flex his left hand and hummed. "At least I can move it now. Rhys wants to know why though."

"Well, he probably doesn't want it to happen again. I'm glad you can move it again!"

"Your happy about everything." The girl nodded quickly.

"Of course! Your back! Nia's back! Everyone's back!" Gray ruffled her hair and pulled the little leader into a one arm hug.

The boy noticed the large hoodie over the girl and he smiled warmly. "You're still wearing my hoodie."

"Hmm? Oh yeah! It um… made me feel safe sometimes." Ruby blushed before grinning as Gray kissed her temple.

"That's funny." The girl pouted slightly, she had expected a different response but… oh well.

The little leader's uncle sat next to the fire and poked it before glancing at GRIN. "So Gray. Your team must have been busy to try and catch up with us. Did you find any trouble on the way?" Qrow's eyes peered into the boy as he straightened his face.

"Yeah, actually we did." Nia said for her partner. "There's these jerks out there that have Dust injected into them and there dangerous. We found one in a village but took care of him. There were four others before we found you guys and then… that Tyrian dude." Qrow nodded and continued to stoke the flames.

"How'd you take care of them?"

"We killed them." Gray responded quickly to the Hunter. "We killed those monsters." Ruby widened her eyes and turned to her boyfriend.

"What?" She asked. Qrow sighed.

"They killed them Ruby. They did what they had to."

Ruby shook her head. "I-I don't…" Rhys and Iris folded their arms.

"We knew you wouldn't understand. Ruby, they were coming after you. They were coming after Gray too." Rhys started. "Since Katherine didn't kill him before they're after him and you and probably us. It was self defense in a way." Iris finished.

"I understand your reasoning albeit slightly." Ren said, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "Eliminating threats to yourself, us and potentially innocents makes sense." The group fell silent as Ruby thought, just imagining GRIN taking lives for her sake. How bad did Gray change? The girl's uncle stood up lookin over the group of teenagers going through a rough journey for various yet similar reasons.

Oz was right. Innocence doesn't last forever. Almost all of these kids have had that joy taken from them and the only one who's retained her stubborn ignorance was Ruby. The Hunter stared at GRIN, seeing the façade on their faces. They may look happy and cheery but, they had lost their teen years' ignorance to this worlds harsh reality. And now they looked cold, stern and dangerously determined. "No one is angry Gray or any of you. You did what you had to do." At least he hoped they did. "Let's get some sleep, who wants to take watch?" Gray raised his hand and everyone shifted around to get comfortable and eventually, all was quiet except for the slowly dying fire.

Crickets did their song and dance routine and in the wind was the sounds of leaves rustling, the sounds of the forest relaxed Gray as his mind thought about his team. Taking those lives was a necessary thing they needed to do. There were so many positives in doing it. But there were also negatives as well. What if GRIN strays away from their goal?

No… Gray shook his head. That will never happen. They killed those men and women for the villages out here. For their own protection and Ruby's protection. Their goals were darker than Ruby's most likely, she didn't understand that these people won't learn or repent for their crimes.

So the best option was to kill them, so they couldn't continue these crimes and peace could really happen. Peace would only happen when the thing stopping it, ceases to exist, not to be just merely delayed and shoved under the carpet. Gray flexed his arm, watching Ruby rest her head in his lap. A small strands of hair was in her face as he brushed them away, letting her sleep peacefully.

"So onto a few more questions." The gruff voice of Qrow broke through the wood's quiet atmosphere. Gray looked past the fire to see the Hunter's eyes. "Your ears and teeth, their still there. However, there isn't overgrowth of hair and even your eye, it remains focused. Explain."

"What do you mean?"

"Explain why your not trying to tear us apart right now." Gray glared at the man, he couldn't blame Qrow since this is supposedly the first time this has happened but it still annoyed him.

"I have no clue. I remember blanking out at the fall and then waking up in the hospital with my left arm disabled. Other than that I have no clue. I vaguely remember Katherine and a stabbing pain in my left shoulder. So I have no idea what happened to me." Qrow hummed. "Do you disapprove of my team's mindset of taking lives?"

"No. Actually I don't. I actually except it from you four. You and Nia have the biggest impacts on your minds, even before the fall. Both of you had missing parents and then, you lose control and even lose parts of your body. Honestly I'm surprised that Nia retains that cute happy persona of hers." Gray balls his hand.

"Yeah she's a tough cookie. Honestly, if it wasn't for Ruby and Iris being so damn quick, I might've caught feelings." The boy chuckled dryly while the hunter laughed genuinely. The crackling fire was all the noise around them as the boy took off his eyepatch, the only other person awake staring at the fire . "You know we're killing Katherine right? And the remains of KING." Qrow glanced up narrowing his eyes.

"Is that so?"

"They have to go. Just like I said before, they can't be put in prison especially now with all this Dust in them." Qrow listened intently. "We don't care what happens, as long as those bastards die our mission will be complete."

"Slow down Gray. Don't think like that and don't get too risky. Your too young to be thinking like that. Remember about Ruby."

"I'm more focused on revenge." The two 'men' stared at each other, the one eyed one glancing at the girl sleeping in his lap. "She probably won't understand, but I want Katherine out of the picture. And nothing is going to stop me or my team." The boy rubbed his eye. "I'm goin to sleep. You take watch Qrow." Gray then closed his chocolate blind for his eye. The boy quickly fell asleep and within his lap, Ruby opened an eye with a worried glance to her boyfriend. What happened to him? She didn't remember him to be so hellbent and sounding so vengeful, it was kind of scary.

* * *

The next morning started off fairly basic the fire had died and the first to awake were Gray and his partner, Nia being awake from being on watch. The boy moved Ruby's head so he could get up and looked around his surroundings, his wolf ear raised at attention and his other sitting at the top of his head. "Good morning Gray." Nia said smiling as she approached the boy. "How'd you sleep?"

"Okay," He responded with a yawn. "Qrow wanted to talk to me about… me." The girl tilted her head confused before realizing what he was talking about. "Yeah, he was wondering if he could trust me." The girl narrowed her eyes. "Relax, I told him everything."

"I still don't trust him Gray."

"He's with us for now when we get to Mistral it's a hunt."

"What if Ruby doesn't want to help us?"

"Simple we go on our own, we've been fine so far." Nia nodded slowly. The two conversed longer, eventually all of GRIN was awake and planning for Mistral. Soon Ruby and the other awakened and searched for the other team their accompanying. The group had left the camp grounds and Jaune looked around.

"Where could they have gone? They didn't leave did they?" Jaune asked, Ren looked through the trees unable to locate the four. Suddenly the ground vibrated and the sound of a tree falling was hear behind them. The four ran towards the noise to finally find GRIN combating a batch of Grimm and effectively ripping them apart.

The pack of Beowolfes were torn limb from limb, the team using their partners and each other to maximum efficiency. It was impressive and the fighting was almost like a stunt show, Gray used his shield and left fist to continue a attack chain of Nia's while she followed up Rhys' attacks. The fighting ended quickly and Nia jumped in the air excited. "Great way to wake up! Gray your left arm is crazy! Why aren't you using Broken Stem though?" The boy yawned and rubbed his ear.

"Dunno really. My fist seems just as good if not more so. Why?" The blonde shook her head, moving her weight to the balls of her feet to her toes.

"No reason! You have some cool moments with your hand! Your all like 'boosh!'" Ruby smile slightly seeing the positivity just leaking from them. But Ruby remembered what she had overheard last night about Nia, it upset her. "Hey! The others are awake! Is Qrow almost ready?"

Ren and Jaune nodded. "Yes," The green-clad boy said. "We should be good." Nora continued. Gray nodded along with Rhys.

"Good." The boy with the accent mumbled, turning his back to the group. "We better get moving then, Katherine isn't waiting for us." Gray barked, the two girls on his team following the others.

Ruby stared at them and turned to Jaune. "Jaune, get my uncle!"

"Okay!" He said running to the little leaders relative. The girl dashed up to Gray and in front of him, arms crossed.

"Hey! What are you doing?! We have to wait for everyone!"

"We can't be waiting all the time Ruby. We need to get to Mistral. Weiss is most likely waiting there for us and we all need to meet up to get rid of KIN."

"Yeah I know that," Ruby responded. "But just hang on. Everyone is coming." The group folded their arms as a collective and sighed altogether. "Guys, why are you in such a rush?"

"Because the longer we wait, the stronger Cinder gets. The harder it's gonna be." Gray replies. "The quicker we get there, the weaker Nyla is going to be. And the easier our goal will be." Looking back the man narrowed his eye. "There's your uncle. Let's get going Ruby." The team walked off again as the little girl stood stunned.

"Ruby?" Her blonde companion spoke up. "He's different Ruby."

"I know. It's kind of scary." They followed GRIN almost reluctantly, but followed nonetheless.

"You can't blame them." Ren said, his partner agreeing with a nod.

"Yeah, Doesn't Gray have like a vendetta against Katherine and Nyla? They did some real damage." Ren nodded.

"Precisely. They have every reason to be this way. However, they don't need to act like this way."

The mix of two teams caught up to GRIN, trudging through the forest and kicking up the bright green and brown leaves. It felt so weird for everything to be awkward, at least when it came to Ruby and Gray. To little girl thought things would be… she didn't know what to think. Things wouldn't be all lovey dovey and with the way Gray was now, Ruby felt weird around him.

For some time the group traveled across forest and treaded through the dirt road, making small talk while Ruby would take glances at Gray seeing his focused and matured face. The girl kindly asked Nia and Rhys to back up so she could have some space with their leader "Hey Gray?" She asked, hands tied together behind by her fingers.

"Yeah?"

"Um, about last night…"

"You heard Qrow's talk with me huh?" Ruby nodded slowly.

"You were a little loud." She nervously giggled. However, her boyfriend wasn't smiling.

"Well, it's all true Ruby. These people can't and won't change so… they have to go."

"I'm trying to understand but I can't. How do you know? How are you so sure?"

"Because one almost took the life of a young girl and would burn down a whole village just to get to my team. Because they chose to endure the injections. That's why they deserve our death penalty. Because they wanted to become weapons to cause harm."

"How are you so sure? Maybe they were forced to do it. Maybe they had to do it or else they'd die."

"Then we just ended their suffering sooner." Ruby stopped walking as Gray continued to walk ahead, Rhys and Iris resting a hand on either side of Ruby's shoulders as Nia rushed up to her partner.

Ruby turned to Rhys, stunned. "He's like a completely different person. He's so determined. Do you know why? It's almost like he's a stranger." The boy next to her sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets, his orbs floating above him.

"Yes Gray has taken a turn in goals. But understand his reasoning. He's after a woman who had been hiding in plain sight for quite some time and toying with him on two fronts. This is the same woman that ruined everything for us and caused him to lose all control of his arm for a long period of time. What would you do in his shoes when all you see when people exactly act like Katherine try to attack you and your loved ones?" Ruby cast her eyes to the road.

"Although Gray is more… hardened. He's still the Gray you love. He just has a very strong… conviction when it comes to taking these peoples lives. Please try to understand. And I know how you feel. Nia is just like that but… I don't know." The two stepped forward and walked ahead returning the groups walking format to its original formation.

Qrow watched over the group, continuing at a quickened pace. The man could feel the tension between Ruby and Gray and he felt bad but… Ruby had to realize that Gray and his team and soon her own team will have to do similar things. Sadly right now being a hunter doesn't mean just killing monsters.

There's a very fine line.

* * *

As the hours passed and the sun ran on its rail-like path, the group had started to see things off with the forest. Burn marks, scorch marks, and spots where there seemed to be small frozen puddles of water. Nia rose from one of them and rolled her high tech arm. "So?" Ruby asked, the group together.

Nia cracked her fingers and glanced at her team. Gray then spoke up for her.

"Dust users. Just be careful you guys. Some of them could be troublesome." Further ahead was what seemed to be a abandoned village, Rhys scanned the environment. More scorch marks and burn marks.

"I don't like this Gray. This entire area is empty and…"

"Your right. Everyone watch out and keep an eye out for anything suspici-" Before Gray could finish his order a loud fiery bang plagued everyone's ears as a explosion enveloped around Gray blasting him into a wall.

"Gray!" The group yelled. Dashing to his side, the leader's team helped him up and searched for the attackers. Appearing from corners of buildings and inside a few were ten Dust enhanced White Fang. "Are you okay?!" Nia and Ruby asked.

"Yep!" The man groaned, shaking off some rubble. "Guess we don't need to be on the look out. Nia, with me.

"Of course." She said back. Iris, Rhys and the others readied themselves. The Dust Fang's and the group rushed toward each other, Gray being extremely aggressive with his partner and teammates, while Ruby and the remnants of JNPR took a more defensive route, Qrow assisting them both and dealing with his own.

The overwhelming mass of Dust Fang's surprisingly worked against them as Gray and Nia executed a beautiful dance of blades and punches, throwing the enemy into walls and even into each other. Together GRIN was almost a unstoppable force while RNJR went a more methodical route. Buildings were smashed and the dirt ground broke up with rocky and ice-like spikes. Blood curdling wails plagued Ruby's ears as Nia cut down her foes, leaving others exposed for her teammates heavy and powerful axe. As the fighting progressed it seemed like GRIN was getting more and more vicious.

"Nia!"

"Yep!" Acting like a hive mind, Nia kicked a Dust Fang off their feet and parallel to the ground, lining the foe up with Gray's perpendicular axe, which's smashed into the Fang's sternum killing him on the spot. The axe wielder than threw his weapon overhead, the large object slamming into a opposing for. Ruby cringed at the slaughter she was witnessing, they were winning but, in such a violent wrathful manner.

Loud fiery explosions covered houses in large smoky pyres, billows of smoke rising into the sky. And with one final blood choked screech, the battle was over, the group as a collective gathered themselves and rested. Just like Grant and every other Dust Fang, the corpses were engulfed in the type of Dust that they injected into themselves l, fire, electricity, etc.

It was strange, the reaction reminded Ruby of when you put salt on frog legs, they convulsed like they were alive. Just like the bodies. It didn't mean the sight was still horrific.

The girl then turned her attention to GRIN who stood over the last living Dust Fang who was on her knees. "Wait! Wait! I'll-I'll do anything just, please…" Nia twirled her katana with anticipation, her dagger sheathed at her hip.

"Gray? Rhys?" She called. The two boys stared into the woman's crystal blue eyes.

"Is KING still within Mistral?"

"Y-yes! I-I don't know where exactly they move quite frequently!"

"Do they have bodyguards or something?" Gray asked next.

"The…" The woman went quiet briefly before remembering what was happening. "The second group. Their more around KING then us." Rhys turned to his team, everyone shrugging from the information.

"Second group? How many Dust Fangs are there?"

"Only two! Like I said! But, those guys are more experienced." The leader scoffed and folded his arms.

"So they throw out the 'expendable' ones to be torn apart. Assholes." He muttered. The woman cowered from the group, showing that she didn't know anything else. "Guess that's everything," Gray glared at the woman with hatred before looking behind her where Nia was, nodding. The girl nodded back and quickly and lazily sliced the woman's throat, not finding joy in the act. The woman stared at Gray shocked, the boy broke the promise, she clutched her throat to stop the bleeding but it was pointless.

The woman, with tears in her eyes looked at him with eyes of curiosity. Unable to look at her anymore, Gray placed the tip of his boot on her face and pushed her off, knocking her over to suffocate.

Ruby's eyes widened at the scene. _What the hell? What the hell?!_ Ruby rushed up to her boyfriend and shoved him. "Gray! What the heck was that?!" The boy turned to her, the girl getting a small chill down her spine.

"What?"

"You just killed her! Like an animal!" The boy folded his arms once more, Ruby seeing his knuckles bruised and bloody.

"It's an eye for an eye Ruby." That's it.

The girl grabbed the back of his shirt before he could walk away. "No! Stop saying that! Stop using that as a excuse! Just because these guys have the same abilities as Katherine and them doesn't justify this!"

"So what do you want me to do!? Huh Ruby?!" The boy glared at the girl, staring her down. "Do you want me to try and knock them out and put us in danger? Did you not hear her? There is a whole other _group_ out there!" The boy sighed and covered his face with one of his hands. "Ruby, we are fighting a uphill battle. The enemy has 100x the firepower than we do and tenfold the amount of men. And I'm not taking any chances on getting my team or you hurt! Not one! Now listen up damn it!" The small girl took a step back from him as he raised his voice. "They are the enemy! They want us dead! I don't know why you don't understand… they've costed 20,000 lives at Vale! They've destroyed so many villages! They cannot be redeemed."

Ruby looked away. Away from the person in front of her. "I don't know who you are anymore. Gray wasn't like this." Behind her, Ruby heard Nia scoff while pull the others away from the two and giving them space.

"Ruby look at me." The girl didn't turn so Gray forcibly grabbed her shoulder and made her look at him. "Look at me! Do I look like I'm the old Gray? Do I?" His voice was hushed as Ruby looked him over.

No, no he didn't look like the old face kept its original look although with stubble forming on his chin, it used to be full of life and cheeriness… But now looked tired and worn out. The wolf-like ears were definitely different and made him look more mature. Lastly his eye… Ruby could see directly into his soul. Behind the blackness of his eye was a battered, hurt soul and within the void-like iris, Ruby could see that Gray didn't like what he had to do. At all. But he did it regardless.

"Gray…" She tried to cup his face but the boy's large hand enveloped her own and stopped her.

"What do you see Ruby? I'll tell you what I see. What I see in me is a broken boy that has been thrown carelessly into a cold and hurtful world, and that boy has seen the brunt end of it. That boy had to change and adapt." The boy sighed, knees buckling and hands covering the little leaders shoulders. "I'm not the same Ruby. As much as you want me to be I can't be. I've been through too much to be the same person that you were in love with. I wouldn't be surprised that this was the end of our relationship. I wouldn't blame you. But… everything I've been doing, has been for you."

Before Ruby was a kneeling man that had given up so much. Ruby couldn't hate him, she didn't have it in her heart to. The girl embraced Gray in a warm hug, the man clutching her tightly. "I…" Ruby didn't have any words, she was stuck but she continued to hold the man in front of her, rubbing his back and lightly kissing his cheek.

The two continued to embrace each other as the sound of Bullheads overhead made Ruby look up. Three Bullheads landed with the symbol of Mistral painted on the sides. Soldiers piled out of the ships and talked to the group aside from Gray and Ruby saying, that they had seen the pillars of smoke. They asked if they needed a ride to Mistral which Qrow nodded to.

RIN, Qrow and JNR mounted the Bullheads and Ruby pulled away from Gray. "Come on, these are our rides I'm guessing." The boy nodded, his look seeming distant. The girl grabbed his hand and lovingly pulled him to the Bullhead with Qrow and Rhys, the others scattered across the ship's.

Qrow took out his flask and snickered at the two leaders. "Everything alright between you two?"

Ruby nodded slowly. She thought so, she still didn't like the thought of killing but, she understood the reasoning better and understood Gray more. The girl squeezed his hand affectionately and the boy weakly smiled back. He's hurt and changed, and she wanted to try and help him. After all that's what lovers do. The ship's flew to Mistral as the sun began to set, giving Nia an excellent shot for a picture.


	24. Contritum Custos

The sight of the City of Mistral was incredible, so grand and extravagant. Just the sight of it made the trip barely worth it. Nia snapped another shot, resting along the side door of the Bullhead she was on. "Make sure you don't fall off Nia." Iris smiled, standing next to the girl. Said girl dangled her technologically advanced leg out, swinging it in the wind.

"I'll be fine. It's kinda cool how there's almost no turbulence on these things." Ren and Nora smiled and agreed. The three Bullheads carrying the group had begun to land and soon, Qrow and the young hunters were on the ground again. "So, where are we going first?" Iris asked.

Gray and Ruby shrugged together as Qrow stuffed his flask away. "Well, our first thing on the list is finding a place to stay. There should be a hotel around here. Come on." Altogether the group walked the streets of the city, Nia and Iris taking pictures like tourists. Ruby stared at her counterpart as he watched the civilians of the city go about there days. The girl smiled and nudged him to make Gray smile which she managed to do.

The street lights of a rather vertical city were slowly illuminating one by one, signifying that night had indeed arrived. Together the group entered the closest and nicest hotel that they saw, the receptionist being slightly intimidated by the large group of armed individuals. "Um, can I help you?" The woman asked carefully while adjusting the librarian-like glasses resting on her cute nose.

Qrow gave the woman a charming smile, while holding his flask. "Hellooo. We would like to rent 9 rooms please. We'll be staying here for a while." The woman shook her head and typed it in before returning her gaze back to the actual Hunter. "That'll be 2,000 Lien. 250 for each day for each room." Collectively, everyone's jaw dropped while Qrow's form visibly shrink.

"Uh-um. How about we two five rooms? That-that might be better right? Right?" The man looked back to see the teens eagerly agree. "We'll do that." The woman nodded and took the money Qrow gave her and she quickly followed up with five keycards. Qrow divided the cards up while sighing. "They're gonna rob me here. Anyways, I have a room with Jaune. Ren and Nora, Iris and Nia, Gray and Ruby and Rhys, you're the lucky one you get a room to yourself." Ruby blushed at the realization as the others took their cards without question.

"Why does he get the good room?!" Nia complained.

"Relax," Rhys muttered. "I might not have the room to myself for long. I gotta find Weiss and bring her here so everyone is here. So, I shall see all of you in the morning." Rhys then left the hotel while Nia and Iris whispered in each other's ears, Nora joining in.

"Well I'm going to shower, come on Ruby." Slowly the group separated and went to their respective rooms and floors. Gray and Ruby reached their room that was on the second floor and the man slipped in waiting for the little girl to snap out of her awkward trance to close the door. "Ruby!" He called and effectively bringing her back to reality. The girl hastily walked inside and marveled at the sight.

She now understood why these rooms were expensive, they looked so nice and pretty, the lights gave off a nice mellow mood and the main palette of color was a warm brown. Even the dressers had spare clothes! In various size to choose from! What the heck?! "Gray, this place is nuts! Cool and really pretty, but nuts!" Gray nodded and grabbed a pair of underwear and frowned at the shorts that were in the dresser.

"For you, it looks like they didn't give a crap about the guys, these shorts are like twice my size." Ruby giggled while she sat on the large bed taking off her boots and sighing when the foot prisons were taken off. "I'll take a shower first. The man walked into the bathroom and Ruby was left with her thoughts. The girl was happy that they had finally reached the city. Another goal down, but now they had to track Katherine and them down and stop them from whatever they were doing.

As the sound of water slowly stopped, Ruby grabbed her own clothes and went inside the also very impressive bathroom when Gray stepped out. Jumping inside, the girl relished in the feeling of nice steam and hot water hitting her bare back. Audible pounding on the door made the young girl jump before muttering a just loud enough 'come in'. "Sorry, I'm just grabbing your clothes to wash, we have a washer and dryer in here too. Qrow really chose a nice place."

"Y-yeah, it's really impressive."

"Sorry, I'll leave you be now." The door closed and Ruby exhaled. Living in the same room as Gray, sleeping in the same bed… the girl slapped her face and turned off the shower after she was done.

There was a clear amount of sexual tension between the two, there was tension in everything about them however… not as noticeable compared to their attraction to each other. After getting dressed Ruby looked herself over, she was just in her underwear! Unconsciously, Ruby covered herself even if she was the only person in the room. The girl sighed and stared at her chest before puffing out a huff and walking out.

All that hyping up wasn't needed in the slightest, for Gray didn't even move to look at her, his eye glanced her over and the boy turned away afterward. Ruby kinda hastily walked to the bed and hid her small body in the covers. The girl looked at Gray's back as he removed his eyepatch and placed it on the dresser next to him. To Ruby the atmosphere was still a little awkward but for the man next to her everything was rather tranquil. "It's now to finally sleep in a bed."

"Especially as one as comfortable as these, we stayed at a few inns out there." Gray fell back and lied his head on his hand, clenching and unclenching his left hand.

"Lucky, we barely slept and even when we did, it was on the grassy ground." Ruby smiled and slowly crawled closer and slowly tracing circles on Gray's chest, averting her eyes.

"It was lonely…" The boy's eye widened, not grasping the real context of the sentence. But regardless, the boy turned his head to face the girl before briefly kissing the top of her forehead lovingly. "Gray… I'm glad you're here." Yep, he assumed correctly. Their lips embraced each other, his hand grasping the half-naked girl's head and pulling her more into a kiss.

Ruby scrambled over to mount her boyfriend, holding the kiss for as long as possible, missing Gray's intimacy dearly and enjoying the sudden return. His kisses slowly moved down to her neck and wandered to the center of her chest, the man's large hands holding onto her waist. Oh jeez she grew a bit. The girl embraced his head instinctively, reveling in the amazing and awkward sensations Gray was causing. His wolf ear slightly tickling her neck. The man stopped and looked up to see Ruby's face embarrassed. "Ruby as much as I'd like to keep going, we need sleep." The girl looked down and covered up her chest, slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry. I feel funny…" The little leader blushed and looked away. "Like um… my chest feels tight. Really tight right now." The boy below her propped himself up by his arms and gave her a soft smile. Ruby looked into his eye and bit her lip. "Gray am I not desirable?"

"What?"

"Do you like the way I look or do you want something 'better'?"

Gray chuckled and muffled a yawn.

"I'm just fine with how you are Ruby. Now go to sleep. We'll have time to talk and for 'this' to happen again." Although he had one eye, Gray 'winked' at his girlfriend, embarrassing her sevenfold. The girl stammered, nodded and leaned in for another kiss, Gray not leaving her hanging. The girl crawled off of him and lied on her side, back towards her lover.

"Goodnight Gray, I-I-I love you." Ruby's breath hitched as Gray pulled her closer, spooning her and kissing the leader's bare shoulder

"G'night Ruby. I love you too." Ruby bit her lip, her body unconsciously wiggling closer and to get more comfortable. The two fell asleep just like the others, except for Rhys who walked the streets and messaged Weiss to meet.

* * *

The boy stood at the edge of a intersection while standing next to a wall, one of his orbs with him circled his extended hand as he waited. They had finally reached Mistral and now it was time to finish what KIN started. The heir to the Müller name thought about Grant and began to think, theorize and plan how to go about being in Mistral. "Some has their thinking cap on." Immediately his train of thought was derailed and replaced with the girl behind him.

Before he could even fully turn around, Rhys was attacked by a embrace from the snow-white haired heiress. "Hey Weiss."

"I missed you."

Rhys chuckled to himself, holding her head and body close. "Yeah, me too." The boy quickly pulled away, although happy to see her he was tired and longed for his bed. "Come on, the others are staying at a hotel." Weiss nodded and walked next to the boy. "Where were you staying at and how long were you here?"

"I got here yesterday, and I was at a hotel too. What's the plan?"

"Rest for now and then we take a look around the whole city, look for anything out of the ordinary." Weiss nodded and followed Rhys, shyly grabbing his hand and making the boy chuckle.

"Don't laugh!"

"Sorry Erbin." The girl looked away, suppressing her joy.

* * *

The next morning Gray opened his eye, rubbing his face. The girl he was holding mumbled and shifted slightly closer, even turning to embrace him and resting on his shoulder while still happily sound asleep. Gray scratched the stubble on his face and kissed Ruby to try and stir her of her sleep. "Mm… Gray, what?"

"Time to wake up, babe." The girl giggled and sat up a playful pout on her face.

"It's my job to wake you up!"

"Since when?" His hands cupped the side of Ruby's face, the young girl trapping it with her hand.

"Since forever! Is our clothes clean?"

"Should be. They were drying all last night." The girl smiled and energetically jumped out of the bed and rushed to the closet containing the washer and dryer for the room. She bend over and threw Gray's clothes around the room as she searched for her own. Gray snickered and shamelessly stared at Ruby's small tight butt.

He soon hopped out of the bed and stood behind Ruby, the girl holding her prized hoodie in front of her. Resting his head on her shoulder, Gray also lazily hugged the younger. "Hmm?" Ruby jumped, red in the face.

"I don't know why you thought you weren't 'desirable' you goofball."

"Uh, um… I want to be attractive? F-for you?" How do you answer a question with a question? God she was adorable.

"Ruby, you are attractive in your own Ruby way." Gray hid his smile as he brought his lips to her ear. "Like right now for instance." The girl shivered harshly and stiffened, holding onto her hoodie.

"Wha-really? How?"

"Look at you. Your so hot and cute like this and when your flustered. Makes me wanna just…" As her teasing lover spoke, Ruby closed her eyes as her legs shifted weight anxiously. With a simulating low chuckle the boy pulled away from her ear. "Well, we're a little constricted on time so~..."

Quickly Ruby dropped her favorite hoodie and turned around. "We don't have to be constriked on time!" She was so quick she said constricted wrong. Cute. "Y-you um, can tell me." Ruby rubbed her arm and looked away bashfully, a stereotypical embarrassed pose. Gray cupped her face and forced her to look up, cheeks squished and eyes leaking with a mix of innocent curiosity and lustful curiosity.

"I don't have to tell you I can just show you." He teased.

"P-please?" A beg forced its way out of her. She stood on the very tip of her toes, inching closer to the man in front of her. With a flick of her button nose, Gray backed up and grabbed his clothes.

"Okay." The man held the much smaller girl close and reached for her bra. "Are you sure?" He asked once more, his face adopting the look of a Cheshire cat. Ruby's face grew to a unbelievable color or red as she accelerated her breathing, quickly grabbing her clothes and rushing to the bathroom

"Uh, actually I'm gonna get dressed love you!" She shouted very high pitched making her sound almost indiscriminate sputtering. With the closing of the hotel bathroom door Gray began to dress himself, dawning his blue turtleneck, flexing his bare left arm and rubbing his hidden right. He buckled his pants and tied his boots tightly as he stared at the two lethal weapons that were his own.

Broken Stem and his father's shield. Gray could feel his father weaved into it, giving him strength both physically and mentally. He grabbed the gauntlet shield and read the text on the inside of the collapsed shield.

Custos. Broken Stem and Custos. Broken Custos. Catchy.

The now dressed hunter paced around the room as he waited for Ruby to leave the bathroom, which she did shortly after a few minutes of walking around the spacious room. Ruby smiled at the man and soon they departed from their abode, stepping out into the early morning of Mistral. "So, we aren't waiting for the others?"

"No, we'll just walk around, seeing everything Mistral has to offer and looking for anything wrong."

"Sounds good!" Ruby pumped her fists with excitement earning her a ruffling of her hair. Her partner in action lead the way and the two walked the streets of Mistral together. The city was busy but not too busy since it was fairly early, citizens walking the streets or driving to their jobs or their daily activities. The streets were quite nice and a good slightly cold breeze washed over. Ruby and Gray made their small talk as they charted Mistral in their heads while still as alert as ever. After crossing a street Gray began to smell something and grabbing Ruby's arm to stop her strolling. "Something wrong?"

"I smell Dust."

"You know where? I don't think there are any shops around here." The little girl's partner pointed to an alleyway in between two buildings and from further inspection it seemed to be a smaller road of sorts. "Let's check it out but be careful please?" Gray nodded and they hastily walked into the alley, hiding behind a dumpster as Ruby peeked out. Her observant silver eyes spotted a few men and women gathered around a dark van and two men carried briefcases of hidden stuff into the dark van. One man carrying a case had the infamous White Fang mask attached to his belt. "Gray! White Fang!"

"Great. A good start. Kick their asses and leave one alive or conscious so we can question them. Any of 'em stand out?"

"Nope. I think their all normal." Gray nodded and stood up, hands empty as he approached what he and Ruby assumed was a deal. Balling his right into a fist the hunter slammed it into a unsuspecting man, launching them into a stone wall and immediately putting them out of the fight. Yelling filled the air as the dealers and the two White Fang began to panic and jump into their van with Dust inside. As Gray threw the remains of the deal around and bashing them into their car and also the White Fang's, Ruby aimed at the back tire of the van. The van began to peel off and exit the alley until their tire exploded and redirected the van into the same wall the guard Gray had knocked out, more specifically the van crashed straight into the unconscious man.

Finally, the deal was shut down with Gray holding back and knocking out everyone. The two then reached the van, Ruby dumping out the Dust to check it and Gray ripped off the door, pulling out the driver. Gray kicked the man over and stepped hard on his chest, pinning the terrorist. "So, nice deal you have." The man pinning him smiled. "Ruby what kind of Dust did they have?"

"A bunch! Crystal, umm that kind and that thing!"

"Is this for injecting people right?" The White Fang man was silent making Gray sigh. "Ruby can you try and hide the guys in the van please? I need to talk to this guy." Ruby nodded and began to work as gray removed his foot and replaced it with a knee. "Okay, has in a good mood 'cause of her. Just tell me about Katherine, Nyla and Ivan. It'll be quick and I won't have to break anything." The White Fang didn't know what to do but, he soon gave up and tried to breathe with the man on top of him.

"Fine…" Gray smiled and allowed him to talk. Before the man could even talk a bullet rammed through his skull like butter. Following the entry point of the skull the boy looked above him to find…

Emerald.

The girl looked terrified seeing him and Ruby. The man bit his lip and nodded to Ruby before unsheathing his weapon and activating it's scythe form, digging it into the wall and throwing himself upward, just high enough to grab the fire exit of the building. Throwing himself upward again Gray vaulted over the edge of the building and threw his now axe-form weapon at the fleeing Emerald, hitting her in the back and stopping her in her tracks. Scrambling up Emerald felt a backbreaking kick and Gray's hand throwing her over him, back into the center of the roof. "Long time no see." The boy cracked his calloused knuckles and flashed a grin. Emerald grabbed her swords and tried to think of a way to leave.

She tried to dodge Gray's fast and harsh melee onslaught, struggling as he seemed to not waver in fatigue. Cartwheeling away from a downward smash the dark skinned girl received a bullet for her efforts distracting her and leaving her open. Before she could react Gray was below her and savagely slammed his fist into her stomach knocking her back and leaving her swords behind. But the hunter wasn't done, for he grabbed her leg midair and threw her to the hard roof and kicking her over. With a blank stare Gray pummeled the girl until the sight of her Aura breaking was evident and then, he pinned her just like the poor dead bastard down below. "Get off of me!"

The hunter applied more weight onto her chest and effecting her breathing. "Nope." Ruby said for Gray, her sniper's barren against Emerald's skull. She sighed knowing that she was stuck.

"So, since you killed the guy that was going to help us. You'll help instead." Gray snickered. "Now about Katherine."

"I'm not telling you shit." The girl then spat in their direction but both hunters dodged it.

"Em come on."

"Don't call me that!"

"Don't you want to live a normal life?" Ruby asked.

"I can't because of the decisions I've made you idiot." Gray facepalmed himself.

"Of course. Dunno why I said that." Ruby sighed. "I- Gray you take control. I don't know why I tried."

"Is she serious?" Emerald asked.

"Shut up. And focus on me. It's not that hard, just tell me where they are and that's it no one will know."

"I don't know what your talking about."

Her captor growled. "Fine. We'll do it the hard way. Don't say I didn't warn you." The man grudgingly stood up and grabbed the girls leg before lifting his leg and smashing it into her knee, leaving her leg in horrible condition. "Think you remember now?!" Emerald's screaming and sobs quieted down as she glared at him with hatred. "Huh?!"

"F-fine…"

"Great! Is someone gonna shoot you know?! Tell me!"

"Their further down Mistral."

"Where exactly?"

"In an abandoned Dust processor… you can't really miss it down there. It has the Schnee logo…"

"See? Wasn't that hard. Now how's KIN?"

"Could be better. Katherine is off lately."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know and I don't care! Are you going to kill me or what?!" Gray shrugged and stomped on the girl's head, Ruby gasping.

"You're, you're not really going to kill her are you?" Gray thought about the consequences and shook his head.

"No. We'll lock her in with the others then call the police." Gray grabbed the broken girl and slowly made their way down to the ground, where Gray tossed her in carelessly.

"What should we do now?" The man checked the time to see it was still morning and smiled.

"We go back and wait for the others to wake up. Cuddling for you Ruby." The little girl smiled and grabbed her larger boyfriend's hand and walked him out of the alley, the police of Mistral would arrive shortly.

"My favorite thing to do with you."

"Not for long~."

Ruby yipped and blushed deeply. "Are you going to keep making jokes about that?"

"Maybe, maybe not." The two walked back to their room, Gray having the information given to him etched into his mind.

Katherine was right where he wanted her, and he would kill her with his large bare hands. That was a promise.


	25. KIN's GRIN

Silence was the loudest thing in Rhys' room, just a calm sound of nothing aside from his and Weiss' breathing. But the blissful silence was shortly broken be knocking on his door. Weiss had opened her eyes and rubbed them before sitting up, a strap of her nightgown sliding past her shoulder. "Rhys," She called. "Hey someone is at the door."

"Get it."

"No! I'm not dressed!"

Rhys sighed and sat up and threw the covers onto Weiss' head, marching to the door. Creaking it open the heir spotted Ruby's silver eye looking back at him. "Hi Rhys!" The boy unlocked the door to Weiss' extreme distaste the girl covering herself.

"Rhys! Why'd you do that?!" The girl's partner gasped and barged into the room and tackling the heiress, squealing at the joy of seeing her partner after what seemed like forever. Gray, still in the hallway folded his arms and snickered before frowning.

"So you fit the shorts they give out but not me? Bullshit."

The man's 'brother' chuckled. "Oh well, aren't you going to say hello?"

"No, I don't wanna get slapped because she's not properly dressed." The two watched the reunion of Ruby and Weiss before Gray cleared his throat. "Me and Ruby know where their hiding. Katherine and them."

"You do?!"

"Yeah. We went on a search this morning and just so happened to find a dust deal goin' on with White Fang. And guess who was there."

"Nyla?"

Gray shook his head, the two now ignoring Ruby and Weiss' shouting and squealing. "No. Emerald. The girl that was with Mercury and Cinder?"

"Yeah I know her. What did you do with her?"

"Broke her leg and called the police, she should probably be on the news soon." Rhys shook his head.

"Well it's a great start. We should wait till everyone is awake and then, we can reveal the location." The two nodded and the taller man grabbed Ruby by her hood and pulled her away from Weiss, Ruby flinging her arms and legs to run to the heiress but her feet couldn't reach the ground.

"Thank you." Weiss thanked. "I'm glad to see all of you, but Ruby please."

"I missed you! A lot…" The girl folded her arms and puffed her cheeks while still suspended in the air by Gray. Said man smiled and kissed her cheek before placing the little girl on her feet. Her partner smiled as she stared at Ruby.

Although it wasn't clearly shown, Ruby had clearly grown both in body and in mind. Just like Gray next to her. Holy crap is that a beard?! "I missed you too. Gray, is that a beard?"

"The growth of one. Why do you like it?" Weiss nodded while giggling. "Well, at least someone likes it!" The man wrapped his arm around Ruby's neck and brought her closer. "Little one here thinks it makes me look like a grandpop."

"I didn't say that! And I didn't say I didn't like it! It just makes you look different, I don't have a problem with it." As she spoke Ruby felt more and more embarrassed, her voice eventually lowering into mumbles.

"I'm teasing Ruby. Besides it's just stubble. Rhys you should grow one." The boy in question shook his head and sat next to Weiss.

"Nope. I don't want to look like a Großvater."

"What?"

"A grandfather." The Atlas hunters said together. Gray frowned as Ruby, Weiss and Rhys laughing. Weiss then thought about the others, remembering about Nia's condition. "Um, when will Nia and Iris wake up? And who else is here?"

"Rhys you didn't tell her whose here?"

"No! I was tired."

Ruby giggled and went to answer for him. "Well Weiss, there's us of course and Iris and Nia and Ren, and Nora, Jaune and lastly! My uncle!"

"The one that attacked my sister? Greeeat."

"He's actually not that bad once you know him." The one-eyed man said. "He's always been 'funny' around me. Especially now." Rhys narrowed his eyes and scratched his prickly chin.

"Because of how you are now?" His brother nodded in confirmation and the heir to the Müller family sighed. "Unbelievable."

"Rhys, this has never happened before don't forget. I'm a weird result for some reason. If anything I should've died from Katherine."

Ruby turned to her boyfriend sitting in the office chair in the room and folded her arms. "Don't say that!"

"It's true Ruby. I can't deny the luck that I had."

"Well, maybe she didn't want to kill you. She could've killed me…"

"Really?"

"Mhm, she knocked me and Jaune out. I wonder… you think she doesn't like what she's doing?" The memory of Mt. Glenn jumped into the little girl's brain, how Kathrine was happy with what she was doing with KING. Could she hate what's going on? Ruby didn't know. "Maybe she wants a way out?"

"Fuck that." Gray growled. Hatred boiled in him and Ruby could clearly see it with the clenching of his hands. "She's payin'."

"Gray she could be like, a insider. Think about it." The man scoffed as Rhys and Weiss nodded.

"I must say, Ruby has a point. I agree with her."

"Yeah same."

Gray snickered at this… joke he was hearing. "Are you guys serious?! She has done so much! And you'll let it all slide?! We don't even know if she doesn't want out." The man folded her arms, clearly pissed.

"Just think about it Gray, don't let your anger get to you." Ruby tried to ease the Hunter, resting a hand on your shoulder.

"Ruby, my anger has kept me going this entire time. I'm getting Iris and Nia." Gray stood up and rushed out, ignoring Ruby's faint pleads. Rhys telling her to stop was the last thing the hunter heard.

Unbelievable! She costed them way too much! And for what, do we can just let it all go? Be the better person? Hell no, Gray wanted that woman in his hands and he damn well didn't want to be the better person.

Knocking on the door, the boy saw his partner without her arm and shirtless, wearing nothing but a sports bra and shorts. "Gray! Your up early!"

"It's almost 11 Nia. Get Iris and put something on besides that."

"Why?"

"'Cause we're going to Rhys' room to talk." The girl could see something was up and rested her hand on him.

"Is something wrong? Is it bad?" The man shook his head and leaned against the doorframe, a small frown on his face.

"Nothing insane, except the fact that Ruby and Rhys think that Katherine wants out of her crime days and they want to try and help her." The girl frowned with him miffed from this discovery as well.

"What?! No! We went through all this trouble to make her pay." The girl's girlfriend woke up from their bed and quickly hid her body from Gray, Iris wearing even less clothing than Nia.

"Were you two busy?" Nia only smiled as a result and waved haphazardly to the boy.

"Give us a bit, okay?" Gray gave her a thumbs up. Minutes passed and the two women of GRIN stepped out. "Ready!" They weren't wearing their usual clothes but instead wore their sleepwear with more, coverage. The three paced through the hallway as Nia and Gray conversed at their discomfort of the situation.

"Although it's crazy to think about, the do have a small point guys." Nia disagreed with her girlfriend and shook her head as blonde strands whipped back and forth.

"No, we went through all of this just so we could get to her. We are not backing out now." Her brunette counterpart sighed and nodded slowly, understanding the situation. The three entered the room once more to find Ruby, Weiss and Rhys in their same spots, Ruby quickly embracing Iris and Nia. "Hey Ruby, Weiss." Nia didn't seem as happy as Ruby was when she saw Weiss.

"Hello Nia, Iris. It's been a while." The leader of GRIN returned to the chair he sat in before he stormed out, the girl's of his team standing next to him. Rhys exhaled and shook his head seeing his room cramp up with people.

"We're starting to run out of room. Ruby message the others and tell them to come here. They should up by now." The girl nodded and did as she was told, informing the others where they were.

"Turn on the tv. There's probably a report on what me and Ruby did." The owner of the room grabbed the remote and turned on the flat screen, switching through channels before stopping on the news. "Huh, it is. Look Ruby."

"… Interesting way to start of the day Quentin. Around 6:15 this morning the sounds of metal, crashing and carnage took over Barley Avenue. Residents soon called police to check out the disturbance, a additional call came in from a young girl confirming something was wrong. When three cruisers arrived they found two vehicles one smashed into a wall and revealing several suspects, along with several cases of Dust. White Fang and local gangsters were inside the van."

* * *

"… few were in gangs around the city but one of the White Fang individuals goes back to the destruction of Vale." The tv showed the image of Emerald's face, bruised and battered. "The woman was horribly injured but still alive, the ones that were behind this wanted to keep her alive. Now onto weather where it looks like a rain, Erik?"

"Emerald… shit." Katherine cursed. This was bad. Real bad. Emerald wouldn't get caught by some police or a two-bit hunter. No those was worse… could it be them? No no no no, that would be horrible. The woman looked over the warehouse that Emerald spilled information about, seeing various 'Dust Fangs' walk around. The woman hadn't seen Cinder in forever which to her was honestly a good thing. The more this crap continued the more the terrorist didn't want to be apart of it. It was one big nightmare that the blonde couldn't wake up from and she hated it.

After all she's being hunted down by kids! Kids that most likely want to put her in a cell. Her brain thought back to the fall when she knocked out Ruby instead of killing her there. That must have been when things changed for Katherine. Inside her a voice told her not to kill Ruby, but she didn't know what.

The good in her?

Scoffing to herself, the woman snapped her fingers together, sparks coming off from the long fingers as she paced around the room. Although she scoffed the woman believed there might be something there. The door opening behind her made Katherine spun on her heel to see Nyla, the woman had recovered from her run in with Gray but her arm and leg still felt odd. "See the news?" The shorter woman asked.

"Just saw it."

"What do you think we should do? Who do you think it was?"

"I don't know. I have a idea-"

"That Gray kid and that silver eyed girl?" Kathrine shrugged and Nyla rubbed her temple. "From the news that looks pretty violent for them."

"Stay on your toes. Alright?" The smaller woman grabbed the door handle and stood for a second. "Nyla."

"Yeah, sure." The cold woman stormed and the burning one sighed. Katherine could feel the distance between them, especially with Ivan. They were nothing more than comrades stuck in the same shitty situation. Katherine sat down in one of the cold chairs in the room while cupping her head. "This is ridiculous."

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" Gray shouted. Soon the whole group was in Rhys' room to the owners annoyance. "She is getting what she deserves end of story!" The room was uneven in opinions. Qrow has agreed with Rhys, Weiss, Ren and Ruby on trying to help Katherine and try to redeem her. Where Nora, Gary and Nia wanted to give Katherine what she deserved. Iris was still indecisive about it.

"Gray listen." Qrow tried to ease the angry man. "We understand you want her to get what's coming but think. If she wants out, she gives us information on Cinder and Salem while she rots in prison."

Gray shook his head angrily. "No! I don't care about Cinder or whoever the hell Salem is! All I care about is Katherine."

Rhys lowered his head as everyone not within GRIN tried to understand. "I change my mind guys. Gray's right." Iris then nodded with Nia, now GRIN was disagreeing with the rest of the team.

"What?" Weiss snapped her head to Rhys. "Why?"

"You wouldn't understand."

Gray folded his arms. "Rhys get dressed." The boy nodded and grabbed his clothes, hiding behind a door to remain in the conversation.

Weiss glared at Gray and folded her arms unapprovingly.

"What does he mean I wouldn't understand?" Gray didn't answer and Weiss growled. "Say something! Where are you guys going?"

"We're gonna check out the place Katherine is hiding."

"Without us?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah."

"But we're a team!" Why was Nia and Iris letting this happen and just obeying?! "Nia! Say something!" The blonde shook her head, eyes filled with something Ruby didn't recognize.

"No Ruby." Qrow stood in front of Gray, the younger Hunter looking up into his red eyes.

"Are you really doing this Gray?" The boy nodded.

"Yeah, we are finishing what she started."

"Be the bette-"

"No!" Gray shouted. Rhys stepped behind Gray and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Enough of this better man crap! That isn't happening end of story!"

"So what do you want then? The satisfaction of hurting or possibly killing her?"

"That's all I want." Gray whispered only for Qrow to hear before speaking normally. "She's caused us so much pain. And we're getting our revenge. And none of you are stopping us." Iris opened the door and GRIN stepped out, heading to Nia and Iris' room to change.

Weiss groaned loudly in frustration. "What the hell?!" Ren closed his eyes, understanding what the outburst and Gray's denial.

"Don't be angry with them. Try to understand."

"I kind of can't! Why are they so stubborn on this vendetta!"

Nora sat on Rhys' bed and twiddled her thumbs as she spoke up. "Think about it Weiss. KING took Nia's arm and leg, effectively drove Gray to almost the point of no return and destroyed the Gray we know." As Nora spoke Ruby resonated with her words, the memory of what Gray told her flashed in the back of her mind. 'I'm not the same person that you were in love with.' "Don't forget Nia and Iris either. I don't remember Iris being this quiet or Nia so focused. It scary."

"Nora is right. I must say it was rather foolish for us to think that they would want otherwise." Finally understanding Weiss lowered her head. GRIN didn't have the 'innocence' that they had. Although everyone experienced a lot on the fall of Vale, GRIN had a front seat for all of it. Rhys murdering Grant at the time it was nothing but surely it did something to him, all of the things done to the team would probably drive her crazy if she experienced them.

"But… why kill her?" Ruby asked. She talked to Gray about this… The heavy hand of her uncle tried to comfort her.

"Because Ruby. They think it's the best way for her to pay. Murder is in their minds and it won't leave until the job is done." Ruby's eyes widened as she gasped and covered her mouth. Even with revenge in his mind, Ruby was worried for him, disgust being a thing she almost couldn't feel about him. She felt for him. The girl excused herself and went to rush after them, through the well-lit hallways, eventually arriving at her room shared with Gray.

Empty.

The girl ran to Nia's room next seeing just a part of Gray. Sprinting harder the girl caught up to her boyfriend and grabbed his shoulder. "Gray…" She gasped out. The man stopped and gestured his team to keep going and wait outside. The man turned around and perked a small smile. "Gray…"

"Your not stopping us Ruby."

"I know I know." She rested her head on his chest. "And I won't try to. I just… I want to I'm not disgusted. I… I understand that you guys are angry and won't rest until she gets what she deserves. I'm not angry and I don't hate you. I may not agree with what your about to do but… yeah."

"Thank you Ruby. Your not coming?" The little girl shook her head.

"No… I don't want to. I might just get in the way. Go do it Gray. And try to come back in peace okay?"

"I'll try to Ruby." The girl nodded and stepped back twiddling her thumbs.

"I'll be really mad if you don't!" Gray snickered and kissed her forehead and ruffled her hair.

"Bye Ruby." The boy stepped back and left the small girl there, the young hunter having second thoughts. The well-lit hallway felt empty as Gray left. Ruby grabbed her hood and turned around back to Rhys' room, and to where her friends were.

It did bum her out that she came all this way with them only to sit back and let GRIN risk their lives but… she let them go anyways. Although everyone was damaged by them, GRIN was hit by KINg directly. After all even if she couldn't participate in the big picture she got something else throughout this journey.

Gray.

She got to see him again and see his changes, who he's become. It was a drastic change but… she could get used to it. She then thought of the others as the hunter opened the door and sat down next to Weiss.

Rhys and Iris both had mixed feelings about the situation but Ruby wasn't too surprised by the change and Nia… Nia changed just a drastically and oddly enough she remained similar to her old self. "Ruby, they left didn't they?" Jaune asked. The girl nodded slowly and the group collectively sighed.

"So stubborn." Qrow sighed.

* * *

"So this is the place?" Nia asked as she crouched to get a slightly better look. The facility in front of them looked like was forgotten. Empty courtyard and the Schnee name on the box-like building. Next to the main building seemed to be a storage area that looked half as large. The hole area had a gritty dead atmosphere to it. "Looks so bleak."

"Yeah, Emerald said here?" Iris asked as well, her leader standing tall and focused at their destination as Rhys leaned against the edge of the roof.

"Mhm. Emerald said a abandoned facility with the Schnee name. And yeah it has the Schnee name on it. Weiss would be pissed if she came here."

"That's the truth. Plus the fact that Katherine was here would add fuel to the fire."

"I thought she would be angry about that to begin with." Rhys shrugged from Gray's response.

"Eh, whatever. Knowing her she's mad she couldn't come along." Iris scoffed and unsheathed her sword and resting it on her shoulder.

"I'm sure everyone is annoyed. But this is our fight now."

Gray nodded. "Yeah, stay together guys. We are going against what could be a whole army. We don't know about experience though. Protect each other and have at least one of us close by." The man's three teammates, brother, sister and… Nia, all nodded together. He then smiled and opened his arms. "Group hug."

His partner dived right in as Iris shook her head and followed, Rhys also joining quickly. Nia nuzzled closer and the boy's squeezed tighter, everyone groaning from the tight embrace, Iris being the most audible. "Guys! Please! My back!"

The blonde of the group slipped out and grabbed her scroll.

"Group picture too!" Everyone gathered together as well in the broad daylight, Iris struggling to maintain her composure fully.

On the far left of the collective picture stood Rhys with his arms crossed and a warm smile and calm eyes for the picture. His hair had a few extra strands of white in them and his face looked slightly tired yet still full of life. Stubble for a goatee could barely be seen on his face, however a small mustache dashed his upper lip with fuzz.

Gray was on the far right as he struggled to lean into the picture, just getting his undamaged ear in and flashing a smile with his slightly sharpened teeth yet still having human teeth. With his uncovered left arm, he gave a two finger salute with his fingers. Small stubble for a beard was slowly growing, and small cuts knicked his face the most noticeable being where his eye was. A black eye patch blocked the empty hole where his eye used to be.

Nia was to the right of her partner, reaching out with her hand to get everyone in. She closed her eyes and and her teeth gleamed with joy as she smiled. The girl held a peace sign with her robotic arm and leaned into Iris.

Lastly, Iris rubbed her back and tried to smile as Nia clicked for the picture. "No! Damn it! I messed up another picture!"

Nia giggled and looked at the other image, way back when before Beacon fell. "Guys look! We're almost all in the same pose!"

"And here I am looking like a mess! Again!" Iris huffed.

"Alright alright. Let's focus now. We have to take down KIN." Iris and Nia nodded and grabbed their gear. "Gray?"

Adjusting the cover for his eye socket Gray nodded. "Alright. Let's get to work."


End file.
